Lizzy's Sunset
by StellarDust2K
Summary: Lizzy lives a long & full life.  She's forgotten about fairies.  Tinker Bell visits Lizzy one last time. / But wait!  There's more!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

Author's Note: I had a bunch of TBell story ideas that I was going to toss to the fan writers, to let those clever people fill them out. But one morning I woke up with half this story in my head, knowing it was a gem. I decided to try writing my 1st story.

According to the book "The Trouble With Tink", Prilla can travel to the mainland in the blink of an eye; she can Apparate! I'm totally using that!

I figure TB3 took place sometime between 1900 to 1910, so this story will be set around the early 1980s.

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* * *

** Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 1 - Tink's Visit

"What do you mean you can't make all the deliveries today?" demanded Tinker Bell, scowling at the 2 junior tinkers, and squeezing her clip-board.

"Well, we only have one work-mouse." explained one of the tinkers, not meeting Tink's eyes. "All the others are out on regular rounds."

Tinker Bell felt flown-off-her-wings since Fairy Mary's retirement. Spring launch was due in 2 weeks, and some items were falling behind schedule. "Clank? Can you show them how to set up a tandem cart?"

"That's easy!" bellowed Clank from nearby, with a huge grin.

Viola's horn sounded sharply through the busy tinker shop. "Tinker Bell, Queen Clarion summons you."

"Alright, Viola." said Tinker Bell, "I need to update her anyway. Bobble, you know what to do. I'll be back shortly."

"Aye, Miss Bell." replied Bobble, taking charge.

* * *

"...the rainbow tubes and pussywillow brushes are all delivered." stated Tinker Bell. "Don't know why some fairies still need to paint by hand... , but we're short on baskets. We may need to borrow some garden talents to help out..."

"I'm sure you have things well in hand, Tinker Bell." said Queen Clarion calmly. "I called you here for another matter."

"Oh?" wondered Tink.

"Do you remember a human female named Lizzy Griffiths?"

Tinker Bell froze, memories flooding back. "That was a long time ago." she said quietly.

"I know. No harm was done, but we've kept an eye on her. Tinker Bell, she's quite elderly now, and fallen ill. She may not have long. I believe you'll want to see her."

"Yes, of course." responded Tink, numbly.

"I've arranged for Prilla to take you to the mainland immediately. She's waiting outside. Fly safe, Tinker Bell."

* * *

Tinker Bell found Prilla outside. "Just let me grab one thing." said Tink. She flew quickly back to the shop, left instructions for Bobble, dug a pair of boxes joined by wires out of a back corner, stuffed it all into a carry-pack, then flew back to Prilla.

Travelling to the mainland using Prilla's talent always gave Tink the willies, but it was the fastest way.

"Ready Tink?" asked Prilla, "Take my arm."

Tinker Bell did so, but also closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. For a moment she felt as though she was being squeezed through a dandelion stem, then there was solid ground under her feet. Tink opened her eyes and relaxed. They were outside the main fairy camp, about 100 miles north-west of London.

"Vidia is waiting to take you into London." said Prilla. "I'll take you back to Pixie Hollow when you return. Good luck."

* * *

Tink wandered into the camp's sheltered area, and spotted Vidia being handed dust-bags, food, and medicines in a carry-pack. Tinker Bell hadn't seen Vidia in ages. "_I just never seem to get out of Tinker's Nook._" she thought. Vidia was slim as ever, with touches of gray in her dark hair, and some tiny face creases.

"Hey, Tink." greeted Vidia. "You ready to do some fast-flying?"

Tinker Bell had never flown with a fast-flyer before, but had heard it described as "terrifying". She smiled weakly.

Vidia took Tink's left wrist in her right hand. "Grab my wrist."

Tink did so, linking them with a double grip.

"You'll be traveling inside my wind-fold," explained Vidia, "so stay close, and fly as fast as you can." She looked up. "Nice day... first, let's get a little height."

They jumped into the air, climbed clear of the fairy camp, and turned south-east. Vidia glanced back at Tink, "Here we go!"

A huge rush of tail-wind blasted around them as they surged forward with terrific speed. Tinker Bell tightened her grip on Vidia in alarm. She cringed at the wind's roar, the wild turbulence, and pixie dust seemed to fly everywhere around them. Tink could barely breathe.

After a short while, she relaxed a bit. It was frightening and thrilling. She looked down at the countryside. Tink had never seen it move past so quickly. Soon they were over suburbs.

Vidia looked back at Tink. "How are you doing?" she asked over the noise.

Tinker Bell felt like she was being dragged through a wind storm. "OK, I guess!"

"Just a little farther!" She gave Tink a devilish smile with a twinkle in her eye. "Come on, Spare Parts, keep up!"

The suburbs turned into city. Ahead, a streak of pixie dust rose like a rocket. They passed under the dust trail. Moments later, Tink felt someone grasp her free hand, and a younger sparrow-man slid up next to Vidia. He wore a curious grey-brown camouflage outfit.

"_Great._" thought Tink "_Now I'm being towed by TWO fast-flyers._"

He looked back at Tink with a smile, "Tinker Bell, right?" Tink nodded.

"It's an honour to meet you! I'm Swift! I work in London!" He turned back to Vidia.

"Swing left, Vidia..." he said.

Now straight...

Down a little...

Slow down...

See that large white building straight ahead? Drop your wind-fold."

Suddenly the wind rush was gone, and they were all flying at "normal" fairy speed. Vidia still had a grip on Tinker Bell's arm.

"_Good thing._" thought Tink "_I'm kind of shaky right now._" .

"South side of the building." said Swift. "Third floor down, 4th from the right."

Vidia asked "The open window?"

"That's it." answered Swift. They landed on the windowsill. Tinker Bell instantly stepped over to the nearest vertical surface for support.

"You OK Tink?" asked Vidia.

"Yeah." gasped Tink. "Lemme just... catch my breath. Vidia, that was amazing. You do that every day?"

Vidia shifted to her favorite pose, "That's right, sweetie."

A nurse-talent fairy stepped out, saying "Excellent timing. Her family just went downstairs for tea."

Vidia turned to the sparrow-man, "Thanks for piloting, Swift. We can find our way back."

"Any time Vidia. A pleasure to meet you Miss Bell."

"And you, Swift." smiled Tink. He smiled again and zipped away. Tinker Bell, Vidia and the nurse fairy flew into the hospital room.

* * *

"Tink, this is Emma. Emma this is Tinker Bell." Vidia handed Emma the carry-bag, saying "Food and dust for you and Thorn" indicating the scout-talent sparrow-man at the door, "And medicines for your stocks." Vidia took an empty bag from Emma.

"Yes, of course... Tinker Bell." Emma said with admiration.

"Pleased to meet you, Emma." said Tink. She reminded Tink of a younger Fairy Mary.

Tinker Bell looked at the figure laying in the hospital bed. "_This old woman is Lizzy?_" she thought. Tink hadn't seen her since Lizzy was a girl of 9. Still, she has her father's tall, narrow face and mouth. "How is she?"

"Resting, for the moment, but she'll wake." said Emma. "She's weak, Tinker Bell, but still sharp."

Tink thought of the equipment she brought along, "Is she deaf?"

"Partially," replied Emma, "I think she favours the right ear."

Tink landed on the pillow next to Lizzy's right ear, and pulled out the contents of her carry-bag. It was the latest version of Tinker Bell's human-talker. The principle was simple: Fairy voices are pitched too high for humans to hear, so this equipment lowered fairy voice pitch by 4 octaves. Tink's early models were all mechanical and clunky. This one used modern human electronics.

Tink placed the smaller speaker box in Lizzy's ear, left the bigger box on the pillow, and unlooped cable for the tiny headset microphone that she would be wearing.

"Tinker Bell," mentioned Emma, "some of our boys brought a book by. We were told it was valuable. There, on the high shelf."

"Oh, flitterific!" said Tink, "Vidia, could you help me with it?" Tink and Vidia carried the book down and placed it in Lizzy's lap. Tink put on her headset, and flew up near Lizzy's face. Lizzy woke a moment later.

"Are you an angel?" asked Lizzy.

"I'm a fairy." replied Tink, with a smile.

Lizzy looked puzzled, "Fairies don't exist."

Tinker Bell frowned and turned a shade of pink. "Oh, yes we do!" she said firmly, shaking her finger at Lizzy. Tink quickly calmed and explained "You know me. I'm Tinker Bell." Tink flew down to the book in Lizzy's lap and tilted it up.

Lizzy turned the cover and read the first page: "Scientific Fairy Research, Lizzy Griffiths & Tinker Bell". She was silent a moment, then spoke with a shaky voice "Tinker Bell... Tinker Bell, I'd almost forgotten. I missed you so much."

"Me too, Lizzy."

"I went back to your tree many times that summer, but you all were gone." Lizzy said softly.

"We were ordered to relocate. I managed to sneak back to your house much later, but it was empty."

"Father sold the farmhouse to cover debts." Lizzy sighed "We never went back." They were silent a moment.

"How are you, Lizzy?"

"Well as can be expected. The doctors and my family aren't saying anything, but I can tell..." She paused. "I know what's coming." Her eyes returned to the book in her lap. "How did you find my journal? I hadn't seen it for 30 or 40 years."

"We pulled it out of your dustbins, several years ago." replied Tink.

"Someone else packed my belongings, last time."

They flipped through the journal together for a while. Tinker Bell commented on things she wasn't able to explain when the book was worked on by them, so many summers ago. Lizzy stopped at the "Actual Size" fairy page when Tink grumbled and frowned.

"What's wrong, Tinker Bell?"

"Well, look!" exclaimed Tink, showing her slightly plumper figure. "Too much mouse ice-cream."

Lizzy chuckled, "You look pretty good, considering your age." Tink smiled at her. "How has life been to you, Tinker Bell?"

"Busy." answered Tink, "I've been a lot of places, seen a lot of things. A tinker's work is never done. My supervisor retired recently, and I've stepped into her place, but I'm having second thoughts. I miss building and fixing."

"How about you, Lizzy?" asked Tink.

"Well..." said Lizzy, looking into the past, "I too, have had a busy life. The Great Depression, and 2 World Wars... I've made it this far. I have 3 children, and 5 grandchildren, whom I dearly love."

"I seem to recall you had a room full of things children would enjoy."

"Most of my toys were lost over the years. The dollhouse went to a children's hospital in Bloomsbury." She looked at Tink slyly, asking "Any little tinkers in your life?"

"Huh?" said Tink, startled, "Uh, no. Fairies don't... do that. We have... you know... when a baby laughs..."

"Ah, yes." smiled Lizzy, "But children are wonderful." She paused. "I never had a proper chance to thank you, Tinker Bell." Lizzy said solemnly. "You came into my life when I didn't have a lot of friends. Later friends looked strangely at me when I told them about fairies, so I learned to keep fairy truths to myself." She smiled at a memory. "You showed me how to fly, Tinker Bell."

Tink smiled, "How did you ever clean the footprints off the ceiling?"

Lizzy thought a moment, then said "I... we didn't! They were still there when father sold the farmhouse!" They both laughed.

Tink became aware that Lizzy was running low of energy. Lizzy looked at the scout fairy jingling at the door, then at Tink.

"Your family is returning." said Tink, "We have 30 seconds."

Lizzy looked saddened. "So tired..." she said weakly. "I'm scared, Tinker Bell. You're a magical creature... what happens when we die?"

Tink touched Lizzy's hand, "I don't know, Lizzy. Something wonderful, I hope." Tink glanced at Emma and Vidia retreating toward the window, and the scout getting ready to dash. "I'll visit again soon, if I can." she told Lizzy.

Tink flitted to collect her human-talker. She flew once more near Lizzy's face, kissed her forehead, stroked her face, then glided backwards to the window, watching Lizzy.

The scout-talent rushed out as Tink landed on the window ledge.

* * *

Tinker Bell, Vidia, Emma, and Thorn watched from the window ledge just outside Lizzy's hospital room. Three adults and 1 little girl stood around Lizzy's bed. She said a few words to the adults, then turned and spoke to the girl. Lizzy handed the journal to the girl, who opened it and turned pages. Tinker Bell was sure she saw Lizzy say the words "...fairies are real...".

"Well, Tink" said Vidia, "I think your visit is over."

"I think you're right." sighed Tinker Bell, then turned to the others. "Thank you both for being here, Emma and Thorn."

"We'll stay with her, Tinker Bell." said Emma, "until..."

"I understand." Tink turned to Vidia, "Vidia, umm... could we go a little slower this time?"

"No rush to get back." Vidia rubbed her right shoulder.

They said their good-byes to Emma and Thorn, and took to the skies. The flight back to fairy camp was much less wild, but took twice as long. Tink and Vidia chatted about things, but Tinker Bell realized they didn't have as much in common any more.

It was dark by the time Prilla and Tink Apparated back to Pixie Hollow. Tink got a quick bite to eat, then fell into bed, physically and emotionally exhausted.

Hours before dawn, Tink woke with a start and sat up quickly, saying "What?". She was certain that someone had said something to her. Her eyes searched her dark cottage, and she listened as hard as she could for several minutes. Eventually she tired, and slipped back to sleep.

* * *

"...only a few baskets short, and they'll be done today." finished Tinker Bell.

"So everything is moving along fine." added Queen Clarion.

"Yes. I may regret saying this, but I think Bobble may be a better supervisor than me."

"Perhaps you miss working with your hands?"

"Sometimes. ...And solving problems."

"We can talk about it after spring launch. How was your visit with Lizzy Griffiths?"

"Ah." Tink averted her gaze, then looked back to Clarion. "Happy, but sad. Humans have such short, intense lives." Clarion nodded. "Thank you for allowing me the time, Your Highness. Maybe I could visit again after spring launch."

Clarion sighed. "I'm sorry Tinker Bell, Lizzy Griffiths passed away last night."

"Oh." Tink said softly. She turned to go, then paused. "Queen Clarion, what happens when we die?"

Clarion gazed at her with compassion, and answered "I don't know, Tinker Bell. Something wonderful, I hope."

* * *

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Author's Post Note: Darn it, writing is hard. You have to drop into each character's head, moment-by-moment, see what they see, feel what they would feel. And this is a sad story. Whenever I got stuck, I would work on a 2nd (happier) story.

Small note: I tried to use British spelling for the British characters, and American spelling for the Americans.

England is so "settled", that it was difficult to imagine where a fairy camp would be. Google Earth didn't help much. Then I discovered England's National Forest. Don't know if it existed back in the early '80s, but there had to be some trees there.

I estimated Vidia's flying time to London around 15 to 20 minutes. That means she's flying 300 to 400 MPH, with Tinker Bell in tow. She could fly faster alone, but definitely sub-sonic (less than 700 MPH). Her "wind-fold" is like the magnetic field around a bar magnet, with air flow instead of magnetic lines, and she controls the air flow.

And that's your fairy science lesson for today.

This **was** the end of the original story, but now...  
Read on, in Chapter 2!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

Author's Note: I was beginning to wonder about "Lizzy's Sunset" (the 1-chapter version). Despite being found by some readers, it didn't seem to be inviting any reviews. Perhaps it was too melancholy for most readers. Then I read its 1st review (by murder-winter-cullen ).

My first reaction was: "AAGH! Why did you say that? Now you've got me thinking!"

Seriously, it's a brilliant idea that honestly never occurred to me. I considered the story finished; even dropped it into a folder labelled "Done & Out". I'd put the final paint on the story, and uploaded it. Then along comes someone who says "Did you notice this door here? Where does it go?"

Thanks, murder-winter-cullen. Here's my continuation of "Lizzy's Sunset":

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* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 2 - Farewell Tinker Bell

As Lizzy watched Tinker Bell gliding backward toward the window from her hospital bed, she felt more and more saddened. She wanted, so much, to spend more time with her tiny friend, but family was returning. As Tinker Bell touched down on the window ledge, the scout sparrow-man zipped across the room from his watch position at the door, leaving a trail of gold sparkles in the air. He joined the other 3 fairies outside the window, as Lizzy's granddaughter Clara entered the room.

"Hi, grandma!" she said, skipping up to the bed. Two women and a man also entered.

"Mum's wake." one of the women commented, "Did you have a good nap?" The adults clustered around the bed.

"Nap?" asked Lizzy, a bit flustered "Oh, yes. I suppose. How was the tea?"

"Dreadful." another of the adults answered, "They really should filter the water."

"I had 2 sweet buns." said Clara. As Lizzy looked to her, an idea came.

"Clara, I have something for you." Lizzy said, passing the Fairy Journal to the girl. "I would like you to keep this safe for me. When I was your age, many summers ago, I spent a rainy afternoon with a fairy named Tinker Bell."

Lizzy snuck a quick glance at the fairies watching from the window, as Clara turned pages in the book. "She taught me about fairies as we made this journal. Later on, I even met many of her friends. I don't know about Father Christmas, or the Easter Bunny, but fairies are real." The adults exchanged looks of concern.

"Take good care of this journal." Lizzy continued to Clara, who looked at her with wonder. "You'll know what to look for, and some day, you too may meet a fairy."

The younger of the 2 women exhaled heavily, and said to Clara "Well, young lady, I think it's time we got you home for dinner."

"Oh-h." bleated Clara in disappointment.

"Next time you visit, I'll tell you some adventures I had with Tinker Bell." Lizzy consoled her. As Clara left with her mother & father, Lizzy snuck another look at the window, but Tinker Bell and the dark-haired, purple-clad fairy were gone.

"I don't think it's a good idea to be filling Clara's head up with fantasy, Mum." said the remaining woman.

"Better that, than the weight of the world." Lizzy gave a wizened smile, which was completely missed by her daughter.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Mum. Is there anything you need?"

"Perhaps a book or 2 to read." Lizzy suggested.

"I'll see what's about the flat." she gave Lizzy a peck on the cheek. "Bye, Mum." As she left, a hospital attendant brought in Lizzy's dinner tray.

"Here you are, ma'am." he said, "Enjoy." He stepped out, pulled Lizzy's door partially closed, and continued to the next room with his trolley.

The nurse & scout fairies floated into the room from the window, but stayed wary.

"It's been such an exciting day," Lizzy said to the 2 fairies "I don't know if I'm hungry enough to eat all this. Would you like to have some?" The nurse and scout floated near the dinner tray. They definitely weren't interested in the meat or over-cooked vegetables, but they tried the mashed potatoes, and enjoyed the custard dessert.

"You must know all about Tinker Bell...?" Lizzy offered. The 2 fairies shook their heads "no".

"Oh. Shall I tell you then, how we met?" They both nodded "yes" enthusiastically. Lizzy set the dinner tray onto an empty night table, and began "It was many years ago, when I was a girl of 9. Father and I...".

An hour or 2 went by as she told the story to the fairies. They were good listeners; eyes big with apprehension at the scary bits, and smiling & laughing at the funny bits. By the end, it was dark outside, and Lizzy was yawning.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, "I seem to have run out of steam. Perhaps I should get some rest." The 2 fairies pulled her bed-covers up as she laid back, and she was soon fast asleep.

* * *

Lizzy dreamt she was 9 again, and Tinker Bell had just showered her with pixie dust. She smiled at the company of her charming little friend, and floated into the air. After a few tumbles around the ceiling of her room, she and Tinker Bell floated out through the window, which was unexplainedly wide open. It was a warm, clear summer twilight. Lizzy and Tink flew together towards London, playing hide-and-seek through some small clouds.

Somewhere over London, Lizzy lost track of Tink. She felt herself drawn to a certain window of a large white building. Floating inside, she found herself looking down upon an old woman asleep in a hospital bed. A pudgy fairy was jumping repeatedly on an Nurse Call button, while a sparrow-man fairy checked the hallway. They vanished as a nurse and a doctor entered the room.

Time seemed to blur for Lizzy. When it settled down again, she was still floating in the same hospital room, but the old woman's head was covered by the bed-sheet, and the door was closed. The fairy and sparrow-man floated out of hiding, touched the head of the old woman through the sheet, then slowly drifted out through the window.

"_This really is a strange dream._" thought Lizzy, "_I should be waking up about now. What does it mean?_" Suddenly, heavy realization fell on her. "_Is that me, laying there? That's me, isn't it!_" Then cautiously thought "_Am I dead?_" She was suddenly filled with dread and panic. "_But I'm still here. Am I a... ghost?_"

Lizzy became aware that some invisible thing was tugging softly at her. She somehow knew it meant she had someplace to go, and the pull would become stronger if not yielded to.

"I want to see my grandchildren." said Lizzy, though no one heard her. She flew out through the window and into the night. She made 3 stops in the boroughs around London, hovering for a short time over the sleeping forms of her 5 grandchildren. The last was Clara, the youngest. Lizzy was happy to see the Fairy Journal on her bedside table.

Outside her last stop, the invisible pull was more persistent. She had to focus to stay in one place. She was about to give-in to it, then thought "_Tinker Bell! I must see Tinker Bell. But how can I find... Pixie Hollow?_" Lizzy looked into the night skies, and spotted 2 brighter stars. "_Something about stars..._" she thought "_Second star... second star... on the right._" She immediately flew towards the star as fast as she could.

Lizzy had no idea how long she had been flying; London was long gone. She saw nothing but ocean below her, but stayed on-course to her star.

Soon a lone island appeared ahead of her. She flew down towards it. "_This could be it._" she thought. "_I'm looking for a tree, a really big tree, near a brook._" From her aerial vantage point, she could eliminate a lot of mountain terrain, beaches, and grassland. She flew towards treed areas.

In a short while, Lizzy was flying over a snow-covered conifer forest. "What's this?" Lizzy asked no one, "Snow, on a semi-tropical island?" Then she saw in the distance, the biggest maple tree she could ever imagine, and flew directly for it. As Lizzy approached the tree, she found it was alive with lights, and tiny winged people.

"Fairies!" Lizzy exclaimed. "I made it!" She flew close to some of them and asked "Excuse me fairies, but could you tell me where I might find Tinker Bell?" They took no notice of her. "_Oh. That's right. I'm a ghost._" she thought, glumly. The invisible pull was stronger now. Lizzy had to "drift" against it. She realized she was running out of time.

"How can I find Tinker Bell? Think, Lizzy!" she said. "_Tinkers wear green. They build & mend things. There must be some central place where all that is done._" she thought. She flew in increasingly larger spirals around the huge tree, searching the community below for signs of tinkers. She almost missed a cluster of work-sheds & cottages, in a ditch at the end of a well-worn road.

As Lizzy drew closer, she could see the few fairies moving around at this late hour were all dressed in green. She turned her attention to the cottages, and quickly flitted to each one, reading the mailbox name-tags. After checking several dozen, she turned to a white teapot perched on an arched tree root. Her heart leapt when she read the name-tag: Tinker Bell.

"_How am I to step inside?_" Lizzy thought "_Even if she's home._" She reached her human-sized hand to the cottage front door, and suddenly found herself on the inside of the cottage, fairy-sized. "_How did I...? No time for that now._" she thought. Lizzy scanned the room, and spotted Tinker Bell, asleep in the bowl of a large seashell at the back of the cottage.

Lizzy floated close to the fairy, smiled warmly at her sleeping face, and said "Tinker Bell, I know you can't hear me, but I need to tell you... Even though our time together was short, I truly cherish your friendship. You've been like the older sister I never had. I have to go now, but if there is a way... I'll find you again. Farewell, Tinker Bell."

Lizzy glided to the cottage door, reached for it, and was suddenly again outside the cottage, and human-sized. She ceased struggling against the invisible pull, and was accelerated into the night sky.

* * *

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More coming in chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

Author's note: To those readers who are strongly religious - this is just a work of fiction for your entertainment. Please don't read anything more than that into it.

.

* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 3 - The Cycle of Life Career Fair

As Pixie Hollow shrank away beneath Lizzy, it faded into unnatural darkness, as did the moon and stars. The only remaining light came from a bright, white-green source on the horizon.

"Move toward the light." Lizzy said, with a knowing grin. "It's not like there's anything else."

As she approached the light source, she saw it was a vast green park, with puffy white clouds floating in a pillow of blue sky above it. All around was darkness.

Lizzy slowed to a landing near the edge of the park, then floated forward to a huge stone archway with a sign above it reading: Cycle of Life Career Fair.

A brilliantly glowing ball of light approached her, and spoke with a reverberant contralto voice "Welcome to the Cycle of Life Career Fair. Please come this way." Lizzy followed the lightball to a small table holding a curious camera, and a computer monitor.

"Please look into the camera." said the lightball. Lizzy did so. "Human female, long life, good behavior, fair bit of experience..." read the lightball from the monitor.

"What is this place?" asked Lizzy, "Is this Heaven?"

"Heaven? No, Lizzy. Heaven is a human invention. This is where you choose your next life. You've done well. You should have a wide variety of options: human, animal, alien, magical, and fantasy." Lizzy looked stunned. "But I suggest you choose with care, if you go too far down the ladder of life, you will need to work your way back up."

"What's at the top of the ladder?" asked Lizzy.

"Gods. But you won't be able to see those booths."

"You mean like the gods of Olympus?"

The lightball laughed. "No, they were drop-outs. New universes are created all the time, and each one needs a responsible god to take care of it." Lizzy raised her eyebrows. "You mustn't worry about that right now, you have a way to go yet. You need to build life experience."

"What do I do?" asked Lizzy.

"Enter the park, explore all the booths there, and choose a new life. No harm can come to you here. Don't be afraid to talk to anyone, or ask questions. It's YOUR life."

"Thank you, I guess." Lizzy responded with some confusion. She noticed many other lightballs talking to other humans, and animals, and other creatures she didn't recognize. She floated into the park.

Perfect lawn grass, peppered with assorted tall trees stretched for miles into the distance, all beneath a blue sky with dreamy small clouds. It looked like a wonderful place to spend an afternoon, though a bit busy with humans, animals, and other things. Occupation booths of various sizes lined the perimeter of the park, each one populated by at least 2 similar creatures.

Lizzy shrugged, wandered to the booths at the right edge of the park, and glided slowly along, studying each booth. This area had pairs of fish in each booth, floating in the air. "Fish out of water." she commented to herself, amused. Farther along were eels, seahorses, rays, and sharks.

The next area seemed to be reptiles. Lizzy looked at the salamanders, and marveled at the brightly colored frogs. "_This is like the most complete zoo in the world._" she thought while gliding past the turtles and lizards, but she hurried past the snakes and crocodiles.

* * *

It seemed like Lizzy had spent an entire day looking, and there was much more to go. Her head was spinning, so she decided to stop for a break. She floated into the park a little way. Lizzy noticed she wasn't hungry, and felt no need to sleep. "Why do I need to choose a new life?" she asked herself, "Why can't I just stay here?"

"Because it's boring." answered a young sheep, laying in the grass next to a relaxing tiger. "You can't eat, you can't run, you can't sleep. This isn't life."

"Move along, human" said the tiger, "You're not part of this conversation."

"What do you have against humans?" Lizzy asked.

"Humans drove me out of my hunting grounds, and later killed me. I'm going back as a tiger again to bite them."

"If you really want to hurt humans," Lizzy suggested "You could go back as a virus or bacteria."

"Mmm." the tiger reflected, "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Lizzy floated to the next section, which had every bird she'd ever heard of, and more. Every size from hummingbirds to ostriches, every zone from parrots to penguins. Seed eaters, fruit eaters, fish eaters, and birds of prey from swallows to eagles. Even farm birds, but none of their lives felt right for Lizzy.

She drifted into what seemed to be the mammals section next. Lizzy paused before one booth, thinking "_I could be a koala bear..._", but she continued on. She did the same at the otter booth.

Lizzy was amused at the mice queued up at the elephant booth, but surprised at the elephants queued at the mouse booth. "_Go figure._" she thought. She raised her eyebrows at a few women interested in the horse booth.

When Lizzy spotted a dignified gentleman before the dog booth, she had to stop and ask, "Excuse me, sir. Why do you want to become a dog?"

"I just love dogs." he answered. "I've owned and bred them all my life, so this is my chance to be one." Lizzy nodded and moved on.

She came across a very long queue. Looking towards the front, Lizzy saw a team of humans working in the enlarged booth. "I guess this is my stop." she said to herself, and joined the end of the queue, behind a terrier. "Excuse me, uh..."

"Sparky" filled-in the dog.

"Excuse me, Sparky. Why do you want to be a human?"

"Are you kidding?" he asked, wagging his tail "Humans have the BEST FOOD! I only got a little taste as a dog, but I want more!"

"I see." Lizzy smiled.

Despite the number of humans working in the booth, the queue moved at a snail's pace. What seemed like hours later, she hovered before a young man in a business suit.

"Look into the camera, please." Lizzy complied. "Ah, Lizzy. Ready for another life as a human?"

"Yes. May I return to England, so I can keep an eye on my grandchildren?"

"Ahh." he stalled, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "Well, since you asked, I'm obligated to tell you... We have no way to fill specific requests like that. Your gender and placement on Earth is random. Statistically, the highest probability is that you will be born in China, India, or Africa."

"Well, I could emigrate to England, couldn't I?" Lizzy suggested, with some disappointment.

"Umm..." he said quietly "Once again, since you asked, I'm obligated to tell you... Your chances of being born into even a middle-class family are very small. You will probably never leave the village you would be born into. Besides," he continued "you don't take your memories with you, only your basic personality."

"Hmm" muttered Lizzy "That doesn't sound like much fun."

"It's the life experience that would be important." he responded.

"I'd like to think about it."

As she drifted away, she heard him say to himself: "Rules. We lose more clients that way." He then spoke up "Next, please!"

Disheartened, Lizzy wandered into the park again. "_That was my best choice._" she thought. "_What can I do now?_" She looked around the perimeter. "_Well, it looks like I've covered about half the booths. Maybe there could be something in the other half._" She floated off toward them.

* * *

The next area had truly cavernous booths, because they held dinosaurs. "NO." Lizzy said with conviction. She picked up her speed, but noticed young boys clustered around booths of the taller and more toothy dinosaurs.

The following area was also quite lengthy, with booths occupied by space aliens. "Too weird." Lizzy decided, as she sped past them.

She slowed to a stop at the next area, having spotted a group of young girls at a unicorn booth. Lizzy approached and asked "Are you really unicorns?"

"We are." confirmed one.

"What's a unicorn's life like?"

"We frolic, eat grass, play unicorn games."

"Are there any dangers?" asked Lizzy.

"The occasional evil wizard, but we can usually teleport away, once a day."

"Interesting." said Lizzy. "Thank you." She drifted slowly away.

"She'll be back." commented the unicorn.

This area seemed to be occupied by fantasy and magical creatures. Lizzy glided slowly along, noting some of the creatures she had seen in story books. She swung clear of a pair of dragons showing off their fire-breathing to some computer-gamer humans.

Lizzy saw what appeared to be an ordinary woman & man in a booth ahead. "_Oh, they must be a witch & wizard!_" she thought. She was about to float over, when something closer caught her eye. Almost hidden between the elf booth, and the leprechaun booth, was a small booth containing a pair of tiny winged people.

"FAIRIES!" Lizzy exclaimed. She rushed over immediately. "You're fairies, aren't you." she stated.

"That's right." replied the fairy. Both she and the sparrow-man were dressed in modern conservative business suits.

Lizzy stood erect, and proudly proclaimed "I want to be a fairy!"

"O-o-o -kay." answered the fairy, with a half-smile. They almost NEVER saw this much enthusiasm. It was usually timid young girls. "Look into the camera, please." She checked the screen. "I don't see any problem here, Lizzy. You can be a fairy."

"Now you must understand," said the sparrow-man "A fairy's life is a working life. It's not all tea parties and dances." Lizzy nodded. "We have magical powers, but they're relatively weak compared to other magical creatures. Because of that, we spend a lot of time hidden from bigger creatures, ESPECIALLY HUMANS."

"Yes. I know all about fairies."

"Do you, now?" commented the fairy, with a smirk. She'd heard this before.

"Yes. My best fairy-friend is a tinker. She lives in Pixie Hollow." The fairy's jaw dropped open. "I went to visit her just before I came here. Perhaps you've heard of her, she's Tinker Bell."

"You know about Pixie Hollow?" asked the sparrow-man, incredulous.

"And you've been there?" asked the fairy.

"Only as... a ghost." said Lizzy, wondering if she'd revealed too much. The 2 fairies converged.

"We need to get that knowledge out of circulation." whispered the fairy to the sparrow-man.

"She wants to be a fairy, let's make her a fairy." whispered the sparrow-man.

"That would be the quickest way to fix this. Agreed." She turned to the worried Lizzy, with a forced smile. "You must understand that your talent and gender will be random. Although there are always more fairies than sparrow-men, because WE do most of the work." she winked at Lizzy.

Lizzy relaxed, as the sparrow-man crossed his arms and frowned.

"Oh,-and-you-don't-take-your-memories-with-you." blurted the fairy quickly. "Now let's get you transferred into fairy limbo. Look into the camera, and concentrate as hard as you can on being a fairy." Lizzy did so. "You want to be a fairy, you want to be a fairy..."

"I want to be a fairy. I want to be a fairy..." murmured Lizzy to the camera, and suddenly she faded from view.

The fairy turned to the sparrow-man, saying "Good show on that frown."

The sparrow-man gave her a deep theatrical bow, "Thenk yaw, mi'lady."

* * *

.

Author's Post Note:

To misquote Hank Williams Jr.: "If Heaven ain't a lot like Pixie, I don't wanna go."

Any of you Tinker Bell fans want to try re-writing the lyrics to that tune?

More coming in chapter 4!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

Author's Note: I never wanted to do a "new arrival" story (lots of them already), but this tale seems to have wandered in that direction. Alright, let's just grit our teeth and get through this.

.

* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 4 - New Arrival

She floated alone, in a silent gray fog. Her head felt so fuzzy.

"_Where am I?_" she thought. "_Who... am I?_"

"Hello?" she called "Is anyone there?" Only silence. Not even an echo.

She looked at her hands, then down at the rest of her body. Everything seemed to be proper. She felt her face and head. No hurts, that she could tell.

"_Who am I?_" she thought again, "_How did I get here?_" She grasped her elbows, closed her eyes, and tried to remember. After a considerable time thinking, she heard a tiny sound.

She snapped her eyes open, looking for the source. There it was again. She knew that sound.

A third time. The sound was louder. It could almost be... "...a baby's laugh." she said.

It sounded at irregular intervals, growing in volume. Her foot touched a surface. She looked down, startled, and could almost see shapes moving. Her elbow and other foot touched surfaces. She reached out, and touched a surface with something moving beyond it. Her space was getting smaller. She tucked her legs and arms in.

"How much smaller can this space get?" she asked herself, as she was nudged from all sides. Outside her space, she could almost see herself floated face-down onto a platform, or stage. She turned her head a bit, and saw someone drift up to her, holding a large cup.

She couldn't see what was being poured over her, but saw gold sparkles flooding onto the stage. She felt twin tuggings on her back, and a strong, not unpleasant tingling. Suddenly her back was free!

She uncurled to a kneeling position, and looked around. People like her were perched on seats around her stage. They all had large eyes, pointed ears, and insect-type wings.

They were all smiling and greeting her with many "Hello"s.

She smiled warmly back at them, and sighed happily to herself, "Fairies."

* * *

Tinker Bell just loved attending the arrival of new fairies. As far as she was concerned, it was at least as fun as Fairy Tale Theater. The spring rush was over, so Bobble and Clank were with her. They had no problem finding seats around the New Arrival stage, as many of the nature fairies were still on the Mainland. They joked and talked shop until they heard the crowd go quiet.

Tizzywing was on New Arrival duty this week. She gently wafted the lilac flower onto the center of the Arrival stage. Not as "showy" as Vidia, but she got the job done.

Stone was the current New Arrival dustkeeper, and he took his job seriously. He floated a heaping cup of pixie dust to the lilac flower without dropping a smidge. Everyone held their breath as he carefully poured the dust. A pair of wings sprang from the dust shower, and a new fairy followed them. Everyone exhaled.

"Oh, I just love this." Tink smiled "They always look so confused. I was never like that, was I Bobble?"

"You were EXACTLY like that." Bobble returned, with a grin.

"Hello." said Tink with the other fairies, "Hello! ...she can't hear me anyway." As the new fairy turned to face the tinkers' direction, Tinker Bell jumped as if smacked in the face by a bug.

"Incanta's Ghost!" she gasped in shock.

"What's wrong, Tink?" asked Clank.

"That new fairy... she looks exactly like Lizzy Griffiths!"

"Lizzy who?" asked Clank.

"Not the Lizzy you told us about, a month ago...?" inquired Bobble.

"It's HER." Tink's eyes stayed locked on the new fairy.

"But you said she... died." added Bobble.

"I'm telling you, that fairy is the spitting image of Lizzy Griffiths."

"That can't be." Clank shook his head, "Dead humans don't become fairies, ...do they?"

"I need to talk to her." Tink said, getting up.

"Now wait a tick." Bobble grabbed her. "Let the poor young thing first get sorted out."

Tinker Bell reluctantly sat down, eyes never leaving the new fairy. "Lizzy..." she whispered.

* * *

"I'm flying!" gushed the new fairy, "Look at me! Whee! I'm a fairy!"

"Settle down now." smiled Clarion. "We still need to find your talent." A dozen or so fairies brought their talent-tokens to the mushroom-tables, as the new fairy landed lightly on the stage.

"Touch each token." Clarion instructed the new fairy, "You'll know when you've found your talent."

The fairy touched each one, but they all dropped, darkened, fizzled, or faded for her. Clarion gestured for another different group of tokens, which were placed on the mushroom-tables.

"Try again, dear." Clarion told the fairy, who wandered to each token, with the same results.

Clarion gestured again for the 3rd and final group of tokens that the fairies had to present.

"One more time, sweetheart." she encouraged the new fairy.

When the last token dropped, the fairy turned to Clarion. "Does this mean I have to go?" she asked, miserable.

"Of course not, dear." Clarion consoled her, "It just means your talent is so rare, we'll have to work a little harder at finding it. In the meantime, I have a royal apartment you can stay in."

Clarion glided to the fairy. "Let's see if I can at least find your name." She placed her hand on the fairy's head and closed her eyes.

"Your name is L..." Clarion paused and frowned, then said "Your name is Beth." Clarion opened her eyes and gave Beth a puzzled look. She then spoke to the crowd, "Fairies, please welcome Beth to Pixie Hollow."

* * *

The fairies fluttered to the Arrival Stage, surrounding Beth, and all talking at once. Tinker Bell strode toward the crowd, gazing at Beth.

"Tinker Bell, may I have a word with you in private?" Clarion spoke over the chatter. Tink stopped, glanced at her queen, then at Beth. "This way, Tinker Bell." Tink followed her queen to the back of the stage.

"Queen Clarion..." started Tink.

"Quietly, please." Clarion interrupted, glancing at the cluster of fairies.

"Queen Clarion, that new fairy is Lizzy Griffiths." Tink asserted, with a lowered voice.

Clarion eyed Beth, wringing her hands "I don't..., I'm not..."

"Lizzy? Beth?" said Tink, "You KNOW."

"I only had a moment to choose another name." offered Clarion, composing herself. "Tinker Bell, whoever she may have been in the past, she is now a new arrival fairy. Do you understand? Asking her for memories she doesn't have, could only cause her anguish."

Tink backed off, asking "How could this happen, Your Highness?"

"I don't know. I think it certainly deserves investigation. I have... sources who might know. In the meantime, I must insist that you keep what you may know about ...Beth... between just ourselves."

"She always wanted to be a fairy." Tink reminisced, then asked "What about her missing talent?"

"Every fairy has a talent. It's not the first time we've seen this. We'll try her out on the rare ones, and proceed from there. If you have any suggestions...?"

Tink thought back to the talent-tokens that failed. "Lizzy liked to paint & draw, but she's not an art-talent. She worked hard on her journal, but she's not a writing-talent. She had a pet cat, but she's not an animal-talent. We got her flying, but she'd never be a fast-flyer. Other than that, I'm not sure."

"We'll find it." Clarion said, with confidence. "Treat her gently, Tinker Bell. As any new arrival."

"I will." promised Tink. Clarion slid backwards, and dissolved into 3 sparkling balls, which flew off. Tink looked around the Arrival Stage, but Beth and most of the fairies were gone. "_Probably getting the grand tour._" thought Tink, with a half-smile. Bobble and Clank were still there, walking up to Tink.

"What was that about?" asked Bobble.

"Uh, nothing really." fibbed Tink. "Listen, guys... don't tell anyone what I told you about the new fairy, OK?" Bobble And Clank glanced at each other.

"Who would believe us?" grinned Clank.

* * *

Tink, Bobble and Clank took their time flying back to Tinker's Nook. The 2 boys noticed she was unusually quiet.

"A smidge for your thoughts..." prodded Bobble.

"What?" responded Tink "Oh. I was just thinking... What do you guys remember about Lizzy?"

"Well," began Bobble "She was good-natured."

Clank: "Polite."

Bobble: "Trustworthy."

Clank: "Brave."

Bobble: "Considerate."

Clank: "Smart."

"And a good worker." finished Bobble.

"You're right." reflected Tink "Those are good fairy qualities. Maybe she'll make a good fairy after all."

"We could do worse." Clank laughed.

"I'm almost afraid to meet her now." confessed Tink "What if I say the wrong thing?"

"She's a new arrival without a talent." said Bobble "Queen Clarion will keep her busy for a while. You'll think of something by then."

"I sure hope so." fretted Tink.

* * *

.

More of Lizzy/Beth in chapter 5!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

.

* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 5 - Lizzy/Beth's Trials

Beth woke to a knocking on her royal apartment door. Her head was still swirling from all the faces and names she had met yesterday. They had played "tag-team" all day, passing her from group to group, and proudly showing off their world. Most of them were quite impressed that she already seemed to know her way around Pixie Hollow.

Beth slid out of bed, and stumbled to the door. She found a trim-looking fairy in the hallway, dressed in a colorful uniform, and wearing an odd-looking bugle at her waist.

"Good morning, Beth. I'm Viola. I see you're not quite ready for your first day of talent-finding. May I come in?"

"Certainly." answered Beth.

Viola entered, and turned to face Beth, eyeing her arrival garment. "You don't want to be wearing those rags, now." Beth blushed. Viola strolled over to a closet and rolled back the large door. Hanging inside were 10 new dresses & outfits, in every color of the rainbow, plus a few.

Beth gasped in joy as she stepped forward. "For me?" she asked.

"For now. You'll find they all fit. Pixie Hollow tailor fairies are very efficient. All they need is a quick look at you." Viola continued "Once we find your talent, you'll be responsible for your own clothing." Viola hopped to the door. "Change quickly. I'll take you down for breakfast and pixie dust, then you're to see the queen." Viola stepped out and closed the door.

Beth quickly brushed her light golden brown hair, and twisted the back into a pair of loose braids. She then chose a dress, and slipped it on.

Minutes later, Beth entered the hallway. "How do I look?"

"Green?" asked Viola, with raised eyebrows.

"It's my favourite colour."

"Green is a tinker color." It was a basic tinker dress, but a bit longer & looser. Viola shook her head "No matter, let's go."

* * *

"You should feel privileged" stated Viola to Beth. "Not many fairies get to see this part of the Pixie Dust Tree." She knocked softly on the ornate door.

"Enter." came a female voice from inside. Viola and Beth stepped into the darkened room, and closed the door behind them. Queen Clarion sat at one end of a large oval table. Before her was a glowing crystal in a fixture. The rest of the table was covered in a thin layer of pixie dust, leaking from a hole in the ceiling. A ridge around the table, and a drainhole kept the dust from spilling onto the floor. The dust & the crystal were the only sources of light in the room.

"Thank you Viola. I'll let you know when we're done." Viola bowed and left.

"Sit down, Beth" Clarion indicated another seat at the table. "What I am about to show you, I must ask you to keep to yourself."

"Yes, Queen Clarion." answered Beth.

"Only the Ministers and a few fairies know about... my hobby. The problem is that it takes a considerable amount of my time, so I'd very much like to find someone who could help out. That's why you're here. I need to see if this is your talent." Beth nodded. "Let me show you what I do here."

Clarion cupped her hands around the crystal, and gazed at the dust-covered table. Some of the dust jumped from the table, and formed itself in the darkness. It was as if one were looking at a live, animated, 3-dimensional drawing in glowing pixie dust. The view was of Pixie Hollow, as seen from high in the Pixie Dust Tree.

Beth watched the viewpoint zoom down near ground level, and follow one of the main roadways. She could even hear fairies talking, and other sounds. The viewpoint slid into a small shop, where she saw fairies chatting as they worked.

"That's not all." said Clarion, still gazing at the dust, "I'll show you the mainland."

The dust swirled wildly, then cleared to show a view of fairies busily working around their Fairy Camp Tree on the mainland. The view then lifted up, panned around the countryside until a human city came into frame, then zoomed fantastically to show human buildings & houses.

The dust settled to the table as Clarion turned to Beth.

"You must trust me when I tell you this: I do NOT use this to spy on my fairies. It has a much more important use, which I'll tell you if you have the talent." Clarion got up from her seat. "Let's try you out. Please sit here, Beth."

When Beth was settled, Clarion told her "Place your hands around the crystal, as you saw me do. Gaze into the dust, clear your mind." she said softly "Now, imagine your apartment. Imagine standing there, looking at the walls, furniture, windows. Imagine you're actually there."

The dust jumped off the table sporadically, in lines and panels, but nothing coherent. Clarion coaxed Beth for a couple of hours, but the most Beth could do was make the pixie dust boil and flop.

Clarion sighed. "I'm afraid this is not your talent, Beth."

"I'm sorry, Queen Clarion."

"You've nothing to apologize for." Clarion smiled. "We'll try you on some other rare talents. Remember, not a word to anyone about what you've seen here."

"I promise."

There was a knock at the door. Viola had returned.

* * *

As they chatted over lunch in Dulsie's tearoom, Beth said "Viola, do you mind if I ask... what's your talent?"

"I'm a summoning-talent. When Queen Clarion needs someone, I call them in."

"That sounds useful." Beth smiled "How many of you are there?"

"Just me." Beth's smile fell.

"So you were like me then." Viola nodded. "Were you afraid?"

Viola looked down at her plate. "Yeah... but it didn't take long to find my talent." She looked up with a small smile.

"How?"

"It was during hide-and-seek games. I won every time." Beth looked puzzled. "You see, "summoning" is what I do, but my actual talent is that I know the exact location of every fairy I've ever met."

"Oh, THAT'S useful. Maybe I'm a summoning-talent, too!"

"Okay..." said Viola, recognizing an opportunity, "Where is Queen Clarion, right now?"

"Umm, in her..." Beth whispered: "...dark room?"

"Nope. She's in the Council Chambers, speaking with the Ministers. You're just guessing. I don't think you would be a summoning-talent." Beth's shoulders slumped. "Not to worry, you're going to see Ruth this afternoon."

* * *

"Ruth, this is Beth." said Viola "Try her out, see what you think. Don't mean to drop & fly, but I need to go, Queen Clarion is calling." and Viola flew off.

Beth eyed Ruth. She was a lanky fairy, with frizzy red hair, dressed in a riot of clashing colors.

"So. Haven't got a talent, 'ey? Let's test you on my old practice grounds." They both jumped into the air, and headed away from Pixie Hollow.

"What's your talent, Ruth?" asked Beth.

"I'm a water-dowsing-talent. It's sort-of part water, part mining talent, but I live with the garden talents. They usually don't like me around, because of my "unique wardrobe"." She laughed. "I wear this just to bug them, but they sure are glad to see me when their plants are drying up!"

"That certainly sounds useful." said Beth, as they set down in a very parched area, boxed-in by cliffs on all sides.

"Now this area has 3 potential springs," explained Ruth, "but they move around, so you need to work to find them." She pulled out a Y-shaped twig from her belt. "I'll show you how I do it." She grasped a branch of the Y-twig in each hand, pointed the 3rd away from her, then walked along slowly. Beth followed, watching closely.

A short time later, Ruth said "Ah! Look at that." The 3rd arm of the Y-twig was seemingly pulled toward the ground. She put the Y-twig in her belt, saying "The water talents are better at this part than me, but..."

Ruth bent over, cupped something invisible with her hand near the ground, and "pulled" it upward. The ground became wet before her. "There. That's one." Beth was amazed. "Now you try." smiled Ruth.

Over the next hour or 2, despite Ruth's patient coaching, Beth tried unsuccessfully to find water. She became more & more thirsty, as her nose and ears toasted in the hot sun. She was relieved when Ruth flew her back to the cool shade of the Pixie Dust Tree.

"Sorry, girl." said Ruth "I guess water dowsing's not for you. Don't worry, you'll find your talent."

"Thanks for trying me, Ruth." Beth waved goodbye, as Ruth flew off.

* * *

Beth was ready for Viola the next morning, and after breakfast and pixie dust, Viola dropped her off at Twire's scrap metal recycling shop. Beth looked around apprehensively at the clutter.

"How do you move about in here?" asked Beth.

"Carefully." answered Twire. "Watch out for sharp edges. I keep asking for larger quarters, but I've heard nothing back yet. Let's get out to the cove."

On the flight to the cove, Twire explained this was part of her morning routine. "All sorts of strange human stuff washes up there." She laughed, "I've even caught mermaids tossing stuff onto the beach. If I don't get it, the tinkers will. Besides, I keep the beach tidy."

As the beach came into view, Twire gasped, and said "Oo-oo."

"This is nice." Beth commented on the scenery, as they landed.

"Yes, but not why we're here. Walk around, see if you can spot, or sense any scrap metal." The beach looked bare, but Beth wandered around anyway. Twire continued, "My talent is mostly scout, which lets me find hidden things. But there's also some tinker and art talent in me."

As Twire talked, she looked down at her feet. She dug into the sand with her foot, and partially uncovered a chunk of human metal. She then sauntered away, to see if Beth would find it. Eventually Beth did, when she tripped and fell over it.

"Ow!" cried Beth, rolling over to see why she tripped, "Found one!"

"Good. Move it up the beach and keep looking." said Twire, "Don't just use your feet." she laughed. "Use your nose, and try closing your eyes to sense the metal."

"What do you do with the metal?" asked Beth.

"Sort it by type. The precious metals go to jewelry and art talents. The aluminum, copper, brass and steel goes to the blacksmith talents... Watch the water!" Beth had, eyes closed, wandered into the water. "Sometimes I keep a few pieces to play with."

After about a half hour of fruitless searching, Beth declared the beach was clean. Twire grabbed a sturdy twig, saying "I'll show you what you missed." She dug up 3 more pieces, which Beth moved up the beach with the first. Twire used the twig to dig a curved groove in the sand.

"Now, the jackpot." Twire said, reaching into the groove, and lifting something large with all her strength. When she stopped to rest, a 10" silver dinner plate was sticking out of the sand.

"Aww!" moaned Beth, dropping onto her bottom. "I must have walked over that a dozen times." She looked at Twire gloomily, "I guess I'm not a scrap-metal talent."

"Not today." confirmed Twire. "I sensed this from the air, before we landed."

Beth helped Twire dig out the plate. They dropped the other pieces onto it, and after a sprinkling of pixie dust, the 2 fairies carefully flew the over-sized load back to Twire's shop.

* * *

After another lunch with Viola, Beth flew with her to a building attached to the Pixie Hollow Fairy Hospital.

"Ouch." said Beth, as they landed. She gently rubbed some scrapes on her arms from her morning with Twire.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wong will fix that up." reassured Viola. "He's our only apothecary-talent. I've heard he's been hoping for decades to find the right student."

Viola paused to catch Beth's eyes. "He's been in Pixie Hollow... forever. He's very wise, but also very eccentric. When you meet him, give him a little bow." Beth nodded.

Viola and Beth entered the apothecary shop, and walked up to the large counter.

"Hello, Mr. Wong" said Viola. Viola and Beth gave him a slight bow.

"Viola, dear! What can I do for you today?" Mr. Wong appeared to Beth as a tall, slim, middle-aged Chinese sparrow-man, immaculately dressed in traditional dark Chinese silks.

"This is Beth, our newest fairy."

"Ah, yes, I've heard." he said, eyes twinkling at Beth.

"She doesn't have a talent yet, so we'd like you to try her out."

"Well, let's have a look at you, child." Beth stepped around the counter. "Oh, you've hurt your arms." Wong noticed the scrapes. He reached under the counter and produced a small container, which he handed to Beth. "Use this on them, keep it with you."

Beth gingerly rubbed some of the ointment on her scrapes. It felt warm & cool, and the irritation faded. "Thank you, Mr. Wong." she said in wonder, and dropped the container into her pocket.

"I'll leave her with you, Mr. Wong." Viola said on her way out.

Over the next couple of hours, Wong showed Beth his shop, the large inventory of dried & fresh botanicals, stocks of basic oils, alcohols, vinegars, & filtered water, and tools & glassware. He was especially proud of his Materia Medica books, which contained most of his recipes. Beth was thoroughly impressed with his stock filing system, which made finding ingredients easy & efficient.

Wong gave Beth a few tests, laying almost identical dried herbs on a table, and asking her to grade them by potency. Beth didn't do well. She was later moving a stack of boxes for him, but didn't notice the top one fall. Wong was across the room in a flash, and caught the box before it passed her waist. Beth couldn't believe a fairy could move that fast.

Late in the afternoon, Wong told Beth "I need to look at some patients in the hospital. Please watch the shop for me. If anyone needs anything, I should return shortly."

"No problem, Mr. Wong." smiled Beth.

Soon after Wong left, a fairy entered the shop with a nasty scrape on her leg. "Mr. Wong's not here?"

"I'm minding the shop for him." Beth smiled.

"I need some ointment for my leg." handing Beth a leaf with some writing on it.

Eager to please, Beth read the note, and flipped through one of Wong's books. She found it was a fairly simple recipe. She dug out the dry ingredients, portioned them into a mortar bowl, and began grinding them with a pestle. She smelled something warm, and noticed the bowl was getting hot.

Suddenly, there was a loud BANG, and Beth was thrown against some storage cabinets.

"I'm not putting THAT on my leg." said the fairy customer, backing away.

It was about then, that Wong re-entered the shop. "What happened?" he asked in surprise.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wong." Beth picked herself up from the floor. "I was making some ointment for this fairy."

Wong read the leaf, reached under the counter, and handed a small container to the customer. Beth smacked a hand on her forehead in embarrassment.

"Thank you, Mr. Wong." said the fairy customer. She bowed slightly to Wong, glanced at Beth, then left.

"Beth, child," started Wong, looking at her, "I was hoping for a kind way to say this, but... I don't think you'd make an apothecary-talent." Beth nodded sadly. "You can, however, bring your injuries by any time." he smiled.

"Thank you for trying, Mr. Wong." She helped him clean up the mess, then left for dinner.

* * *

.

Author's Post Note: More about Clarion's hobby in a future story.

I did my best to guess Lizzy's hair color. The problem is, it changes with the lighting. I found a good picture of her on the Internet (shortly after they pull up to the farmhouse), and placed it side-by-side with hair images of the major hair-color makers. The closest I could find was "light golden brown". Later, in a store, I found a "light auburn" which might also do. Why is there no universal hair-color chart, labeled from yellow-to-red-to-brown on one axis, and white-to-black on the other axis?

The character of Mr. Wong was inspired by Wong Fei-Hung, a legendary Chinese doctor and martial arts master.

More of Lizzy/Beth in chapter 6!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

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* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 6 - Pauline the woodcutter

Beth was once again ready for Viola, the next morning. When she answered the knock on the door, Viola stood there with a strange smirk, looking at Beth's chosen dress of the day.

"I think you'll want your sturdiest outfit today." Viola stated. "I'll wait."

* * *

After breakfast and pixie dust, they flew off toward the border between Autumn Forest and Winter Woods.

"What's up for this morning?" asked Beth. She noticed Viola still wore that strange smirk.

"You'll be spending the day with Pauline, our only woodcutting-talent."

They were approaching a large timber-frame work-shed, perched on a hillside, over a stream which was supplying power for a water wheel. Around the shed were tidy stacks of wood and cut lumber, drying in the fresh air. Beth spotted a blonde fairy in green, loading firewood into a large wagon.

As Beth and Viola flew closer, the fairy on the ground seemed to grow bigger, until they touched down nearby. Viola and Beth walked up to her.

"Morning, Pauline!" called Viola.

"Hey, Viola." answered Pauline, who towered over the 2 smaller fairies. Beth looked down to see if she and Viola were standing in a hole. Pauline was almost as tall as Queen Clarion, but she was much more solid; all muscle. She looked as if she could crumple sparrow-men into a ball and toss them over her shoulder, non-stop, until Pixie Hollow ran out of sparrow-men.

"Who's your friend?" asked Pauline.

"This is Beth, our new arrival. She doesn't have a talent yet, so we were wondering..."

"Are you sure?" Pauline eyed Beth's slight frame.

"Well, we have to try." Viola offered.

"Alright then, it'll be nice to have some company." Pauline grinned.

"Send her home before supper!" Viola said, taking to the air and flying off.

"Nice to meet you, Beth" Pauline turned to her. "We'll just finish loading this wagon, then we'll be off to Pixie Hollow for deliveries." Pauline wore tinker-green, but Beth was sure they were tough oak leaves. Pauline's blonde hair was twisted into a pair of tight braids, which sprouted from each side of her head like tree branches.

Beth loaded firewood, a few pieces at a time, while Pauline heaved armloads into the wagon. Pauline asked Beth about the latest Pixie Hollow gossip, as she hitched 4 mean-looking work-mice in front of the wagon. The 2 fairies climbed aboard, the seat creaking under Pauline's weight, and they were off.

"How did you find your woodcutting talent?" asked Beth.

"I don't know if there's actually a woodcutting talent." began Pauline, "I was originally a tinker." Beth looked at her in surprise. "True story. But I kept breaking things."

"Breaking things?"

"Tools, equipment, buildings, ...things. Plus, my hands are too big for delicate tinker work, so they tried me with wood-cutting, and here I am!"

"How do you like it?"

"It's a bit lonely, but I get plenty of fresh air and exercise. I get to run my shop as I like. As long as Pixie Hollow gets wood deliveries, nobody complains."

"Who gets the wood?"

"Dulsie still likes a wood-fired oven, the blacksmith-talents need it to start their coal forges, and there's a community woodshed for fairies with fireboxes in their cottages. The carpenter-talents build with the lumber I cut, too."

"That's really useful!"

"I think so." Pauline smiled.

They stopped at the back of Dulsie's tearoom to stack as much wood as would fit, then they rolled on to the Hollow's woodshed to stack the rest. Once again, Pauline moved 4 times the wood pieces that Beth managed. Beth's arms were getting tired.

They rode back to Dulsie's for lunch. Pauline ate enough for 3 fairies, while Beth only picked at her food. The ride back was faster and rougher at an easy gallop, with an empty cart.

When they arrived back at Pauline's place, she unhitched the mice and let them wander the hillside. Pauline took Beth inside to show off the workings of the sawmill.

"I built it all myself." beamed Pauline. "Being a tinker has advantages." She rolled a log into place and set the reciprocating saw going, to cut it length-wise. "It'll take a while to hack through that. Let's go out back and play." Beth wondered what she meant.

Pauline grabbed a huge axe and 2 much smaller ones, as they stepped outside. She pointed to a large log-end target some distance across the field. To Beth, it was the size of her thumbnail at arms-length.

"This is what I do for fun." said Pauline. She raised the huge axe over her head with both arms, and flung it at the target. Beth was sure it would overshoot to the right, but the whirling axe arced toward the target, and landed close to center with a loud pop.

They fluttered to retrieve Pauline's axe, then came back a little way. The target looked about tea-saucer size at arms-length.

"Your turn." said Pauline, handing Beth one of the small axes. "Those are what I started with, years ago."

Beth hefted the axe to check the weight. She grabbed it with both hands, as Pauline had done, swung it over her head, and squeaked as it slipped out of her grasp.

"Watch your wings." chuckled Pauline. "Try to give it 1 or 2 rotations before it hits."

Beth tried again, and the axe dropped at the foot of the target.

"Aim a little higher." Pauline handed Beth the second small axe.

Beth tried for 10 or 15 minutes, but only got an axe to stick once. Her shoulders were getting sore.

"Enough playing for now." smiled Pauline, "Time for more work."

They flitted back to the sawmill to reset the cut log for another pass, then went outside to split wood. Pauline showed her how to set a short log on end, and split it. She then showed Beth another trick, where she set one log on top of another, and dropped the axe through both of them. Pauline and Beth split logs for the rest of the afternoon.

Beth was aching from neck-to-calves by the time Pauline called it a day. She felt and looked wretched.

"I must admit, you're a good little worker." said Pauline. "A lot of fairies would have fallen before now. Sorry they put you through this. Did you really want to be a woodcutter?"

Beth looked at Pauline, wings drooping, and slowly shook her head "no".

"Can't blame you. It took me months to get this fit, but you might never make it. I'll show you something before you go."

Beth wearily followed Pauline into the sawmill, to a corner with an axe-blade over a wood block. She pulled a short log off a nearby pile, put it on the wood block, then pulled a wooden lever. The mill gear-works pushed the axe blade through the log, splitting it in 2. Beth whimpered.

"It sort of works, but I can still split wood faster by hand." explained Pauline.

Beth said "thank you" and "good-bye" to Pauline, and with great effort, flew her way back to Pixie Hollow.

* * *

Beth stopped at Dulsie's tearoom for a light bit of supper. Half way through her meal, one of the tearoom fairies set cake-stands full of muffins on all the tables.

"They're new." she explained, "Banana-walnut with mouse cream-cheese icing."

Beth loved them, but was too tired to stay for another. She dragged herself up to her apartment and fell into bed.

* * *

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Beth woke, hungry. She managed to get herself sitting on the edge of the bed, still half asleep. She wanted one of those banana-walnut muffins so-o-o badly. If only she could just reach out, and...

* * *

Dulsie's tearoom was open 24-hours for the convenience of fairies working at any time. One of the tearoom fairies was cleaning tables, when she noticed a sleepy fairy reaching for a new muffin.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come in." she said. "Say, you're that new fairy, aren't you?"

The sleepy fairy didn't seem to hear, but took a bite of her muffin, then suddenly vanished!

"Clarion's wings!" exclaimed the tearoom fairy.

* * *

Beth didn't hear the knocking at her door, next morning. She didn't hear Viola come in, or call her name. Viola picked up a half-eaten muffin from the floor next to the bed, and dropped it into the waste basket. She sat on the floor, where she could see Beth's face.

"Beth." Viola softly called, shaking Beth gently. "Beth, wake up. It's a new day." shaking Beth some more.

Beth moaned, "Too tired, let me sleep."

"I really think you'll want to get up today." Viola coaxed, shaking Beth some more.

"Have mercy." groaned Beth.

"We think we know what your talent is."

Beth's eyes popped open.

* * *

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Author's Post Note: The character of Pauline was inspired by Paul Bunyan, of course.

More of Lizzy/Beth in chapter 7!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

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* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 7 - Lizzy/Beth's Talent

Beth fluttered her aching body after Viola, through hallways and down staircases. From flashes of window-light, it looked to be about mid-morning. If anyone expected her bright & early, they were going to be disappointed. "_Fair enough,_" Beth thought, "_After the rough day I'd been through._"

"Queen Clarion dispatched a fast-flyer to the mainland, very early this morning," Viola told her, "To call-in a rare talent you'll be meeting."

Beth still wanted more sleep, and she was starving, but there was no time for that. Her worries were pushed away by her excitement; Viola had told her they knew what her missing talent was!

As they entered the Main Hall, Beth saw Queen Clarion speaking with one of the tearoom fairies, who was covering a yawn, and another fairy Beth had never seen before. She was small, with freckles, wavy dark copper hair, and wore pink & light green colors. Viola and Beth landed near the others. Beth's legs nearly buckled under tired muscles.

"Ah, we're all here." declared Clarion. "Everyone, this is Beth, our newest fairy." Beth blushed as they all looked her way. "Beth dear, do you remember going out to the tearoom, late last night?"

The question took Beth off-guard. Her stomach growled as she said "No, Queen Clarion."

"Flan," Clarion turned to the tearoom fairy, "Is this the fairy you saw last night?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Beth was getting nervous. This was looking more like an inquiry, instead of a talent search.

"Describe to us what you saw." said Clarion.

"Well, Your Highness, it was after midnight. I was alone in the dining room, cleaning tables, when I looked up and saw Beth here, eating a muffin. She must have come in very quickly and quietly. I spoke to her, then she vanished right in front of me!"

The copper-haired fairy gasped, and burst into a huge smile, wings vibrating.

"Thank you, Flan." finished Clarion. "I'm sorry to wake you during your off-time. You may go now."

"Thank you, Queen Clarion." Flan said, yawning as she left.

"Are you sure you don't remember that, Beth?" asked Clarion, in soothing tones. Beth was beginning to tremble, but it could have been her hunger.

"I- I think I had a dream like that." Beth said.

"The muffin is upstairs, My Lady, in Beth's waste basket." volunteered Viola. The copper-haired fairy fidgeted with restrained exuberancy, and made little squeaking noises.

"Beth, I think it's time I introduced you to Prilla." Clarion indicated the remaining fairy. "We think you may share Prilla's talent. I'll leave you both to work things out." Clarion and Viola floated out, glancing at each other with smiles.

Prilla leapt forward, grasping Beth's shoulders. "Is it true?" she burst out with enthusiasm, "Did you really pop out for a late night snack?"

"I don't remember... maybe." answered Beth.

"Well, let's try you out!" Prilla stepped back. "Relax. Close your eyes. Imagine your apartment, feel yourself THERE, make yourself BE there." Beth tried, but couldn't focus. She opened her eyes.

"I can't. I'm too tired and hungry."

"You didn't have breakfast?" Prilla asked. Beth shook her head "no".

"Oh. Well then... Dulsie's tearoom! Feel yourself THERE, make yourself BE there."

Beth closed her eyes, and vanished.

* * *

Prilla was howling with joy as she Apparated into Dulsie's tearoom beside Beth. They both hugged, jumping, and shrieking with happiness. Fairies came rushing out of the kitchen.

"I think you've earned breakfast!" claimed Prilla.

They settled into brunch. Beth ate like a hungry lumberjack, which seemed to revitalize her, and made some of her aches fade.

"So I've got a talent." Beth glowed. "You wouldn't believe what they put me through. What is it, that you... we... are doing?"

"The wizarding world calls it Apparition, or Disapparition/Apparition." explained Prilla. "We can jump between 2 physical locations through a short tunnel we make in hyperspace. Wizards & witches need a wand, and make loud noises when they Apparate, but I think that's just because they need to move their big, clumsy human bodies."

"It's fun." Beth smiled. "Can you... we... Apparate anywhere?"

"Anywhere we've actually been to, or can see nearby, but we can't jump to a picture of someplace. You have to remember being there."

"What talent are we called?"

"We're mainland-visiting talents." Beth looked confused. "You may not have been told, but fairies' existence depends on human children believing that fairies are real. If a child stops believing, a fairy can fade away and never return."

"That's horrible!" Beth turned pale.

"I know." Prilla replied, grimly. "Visiting the mainland is a big part of what I do. I approach and interact with human children."

"You let them see you? What if they grab or hurt you?"

"We can Apparate, remember?" Beth thumped her head lightly, and smiled sheepishly. "Besides, most children are good-natured and would never think of harming a fairy."

* * *

After brunch, and pixie dust, Prilla and Beth played a "tag" game all over Pixie Hollow. They would take turns calling out the name of a location, then Apparate to it. Beth was a bit handicapped, as she was still new to Pixie Hollow and hadn't seen every place yet. But they managed to annoy a lot of fairies, with their popping in and out. Beth didn't even need to close her eyes to Apparate now.

"You've GOT to meet my friends!" Prilla said, with glee. "Now, who's top-of-the-list?" she asked herself. "I know! I'll be right back." She vanished for half a minute, then re-appeared.

"She's out in a newly cleared crop field. I've never been there either, so we'll have to fly." Prilla and Beth took to the air.

* * *

It had taken about 20 minutes for the garden fairies to move the load of rocks onto the new cart that Tinker Bell had delivered. After the garden fairies pulled away, Tink had a chance to look over the cart they had broken.

"No wonder," Tink said to herself, "The broken axle's worn in half, the bearings are worn out, and the front axle's not much better." It was badly in need of an overhaul. "I'll be lucky to get it back to the shop in one piece! How could this happen?" She made a mental note to speak to the tinkers about getting out to inspect neglected carts more often.

She set to work, using her favorite work-mouse, Cheese, to help lift the cart. "Give a pull, Cheese." she called. Cheese leaned away from the side of the cart, pulling on a twine looped over a boom-twig, which lifted the opposite side of the cart. Tink shoved a jack-stand under that side, then set Cheese up to do the other side.

Once the cart was securely up on the stands, Tink worked at prying and beating the remains of the ruined axle & bearings from the cart's back end. She then rolled a utility axle under the cart, and began fastening it to the cart.

As she worked, she thought for the 100th time, about what she was going to say when she finally met Lizzy. The new fairy had been named "Beth" by Queen Clarion, but Tink had an impossible time getting herself to accept that.

She imagined Lizzy standing before her, and said quietly "Hello, Lizzy... No! Not Lizzy; Beth!" She tried again. "Hello, Lizz... Beth. Argh. I did it again!" She gave an extra-hard crank on her wrench. "_Why did Queen Clarion have to name her... uh... Beth, anyway?_" she thought, scornfully.

Tink sighed. "_I'm not ready to meet her._" she thought. While under the cart, she heard Cheese give some "recognition" chirps from nearby. Tink crouched to look at Cheese, and asked "What is it, boy?". She heard nothing more, so reached for her mallet on the ground. It was gone.

"_I put it right here just a moment ago._" thought Tink, looking around. She jumped as she heard a thud on the cart above her. Crawling out, she discovered the missing mallet on the cart. "_How did it get up here?_" She grabbed the runaway mallet, and crawled back under the cart, using it to knock a bearing into place. She then reached for her wrench, which was gone.

"What in Neverland...?" she muttered. Cheese chirped again, as she heard a thud on the cart above her. Tink's skin began to crawl as she quickly clambered out from under the cart. She looked around the newly plowed crop-field. She was alone with Cheese. When Tink looked at the back of the cart, she found her wrench, and also a fresh cupcake on one of Dulsie's tea plates.

Tink smiled, and turned to face the treeline. With her hands on her hips, she yelled "Come on out Prilla! I know it's you!"

Beth appeared before Tink, with a big smile and arms out, exclaiming "It's me!"

Prilla appeared beside Beth, shouting "Surprise!"

Beth's smile and arms dropped as she looked into Tink's face. "T- Tinker Bell?" she asked timidly.

In that instant, Tink knew she couldn't pretend. "Hello, Lizzy." she said.

"Tinker Bell!" cried Lizzy/Beth, as she hugged Tink. She stepped back after a moment, and asked "Who's Lizzy?"

"You will always be Lizzy to me." replied Tink.

"I think I like that name." pondered Lizzy/Beth. "It feels... right."

"You two know each other?" asked Prilla, who had been watching the drama with puzzlement.

Tink: "Yes."

Lizzy: "No."

"Well, this is the first time I've met her," explained Lizzy "But I somehow know her."

"I'll tell you a story," said Tink, with an enticing smile "If you ride back to Pixie Hollow with me."

"Okay!" Prilla & Lizzy answered with enthusiasm.

Tink finished patching the cart, they loaded her tools and parts, hitched up Cheese, and were off to the tinker shop.

* * *

Tink let Cheese pad along at his own pace. "Queen Clarion made me promise not to tell anyone about Lizzy, but now it's time for Fairy Tale Theater." Lizzy and Prilla giggled.

"Once upon a time, there was a human girl named Lizzy..."

"What a crazy name." laughed Lizzy.

"... who met a fairy named Tinker Bell."

"A fairy? I don't believe it." grinned Prilla. Tink and Lizzy stared at her. "Alright, bad joke." Tink and Lizzy laughed, as Prilla recovered her smile.

Over the next 15 or 20 minutes, Tink sketched out what she knew about Lizzy. Tink's two friends gazed down the path in silence.

Prilla cleared her throat. "I didn't realize you were a storyteller-talent, Tink."

"I don't remember any of that." said Lizzy. "Except, I know my way around Pixie Hollow, and I know you Tinker Bell," smiling warmly at Tink, "And that fairy journal..."

"I thought you were entitled to some history." justified Tink. "Remember, not a word to anyone."

"Who could believe THAT story." mused Prilla. "Does this mean all of us were once..."

"Maybe." Tink cut her off. "I've thought about that, too." They rode in silence for a moment.

"So, Lizzy," perked up Tink "You found your talent."

"Yes." beamed Lizzy.

"You must be so happy, Prilla."

"I sure am." Prilla grinned.

"I can tell you two are going to be best friends." Tink smiled.

They chatted about Pixie Hollow gossip, until the cart pulled up before the tinker workshops. Since it was late afternoon, Tinker Bell decided she would finish early. She unhitched Cheese and put him out with the other work-mice. She also scribbled a note on a Service leaf, stuck it to the cart, then left for supper with her two friends.

* * *

At Dulsie's tearoom, Lizzy told Prilla and Tinker Bell about most of her talent-searching adventures over the last 3 days. Tink and Prilla almost choked on their food, laughing at her day with Pauline the woodcutter.

"Yeah, Pauline's quite an imposing fairy." Tink added. "Clank used to hide whenever she was around."

"So now that you have a talent," said Prilla with a new topic, "They'll soon be pushing you out of your royal apartment." Beth looked worried.

"You'll be contacted by carpenter-talents and decorating-talents." Tink assured her. "And maybe tinkers." she winked.

"Oh, I wish I could live in that dollhouse you said I used to have." Lizzy said wistfully.

"I kno-o-ow!" Tink sagged momentarily in lust at the thought of the dollhouse. "Not as grand as Queen Clarion's quarters, but definitely classy."

"They'll find you something cozy." said Prilla. "You could live next to me!"

"I'd like that." smiled Lizzy. She had her talent, and her friends. What more could a fairy ask for?

* * *

.

Author's Post Note: A lot of what Prilla & Lizzy are doing is inspired by Harry Potter (of course), and by the movie "Jumper".

Within a week, almost every fairy in Pixie Hollow is calling Beth, "Lizzy".

Got to find an end to this story soon, I'm running low on ideas for it, and there are other stories which need telling. More Lizzy adventures in chapter 8!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

Author's Note: Thanks reviewers, for the interesting suggestions on Lizzy's possible talent. I didn't want to go too strange; just use what's in the movies & books. Besides, (spoiler alert) I'm working on getting fairy-Lizzy back to her journal.

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* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 8 - London Baby

After pixie dust the following morning, Prilla told Lizzy it was time for the next step of Lizzy's training.

"Take my arm," said Prilla, "And hold tight." The instant Lizzy did so, she felt the world spin as she seemed to be squeezed through a dandelion stem, then they were standing near Havendish Stream.

Lizzy jumped away from Prilla in shock, asking "What was that?"

"Lesson 2; Side-Along Apparition." Prilla grinned. "How does it feel?"

"Creepy." shuddered Lizzy.

"So I've been told, but it's very useful for transporting fairies in a hurry. You'll need to learn it. Want to try again?"

"A-alright." Lizzy linked arms, and braced herself. This time it was much easier, as they appeared in Tinker's Nook. "Oh, that's better."

"You were helping that time." commented Prilla, "I could feel it. I thought that might happen, so I brought these." She produced a cotton ball and a dark kerchief from a pocket. As she put the cotton in her ears, and tied the kerchief over her eyes, she explained "It's your turn to try. I'm hoping these will distract me from helping you."

When Prilla had finished, she spoke a little loudly, "There, now I'm blind and deaf. The thing with Side-Along Apparition, is that you need to convince yourself the other fairy is part of you. The simplest way is to create an emotional bond, or love for the fairy, but you also need to focus on Apparating. It's tricky." Prilla raised a hand, "Ready to try?"

Prilla felt Lizzy linking arms with her. Nothing happened for about half a minute, then Prilla felt the world spin for a fraction of a second. Then again. The world really spun the third time, as she felt herself squeezed through a dandelion stem, then she was staggering next to Lizzy.

"Fly-through-water!" shouted Prilla. "So THAT'S what it feels like." She took a deep breath. "Good work, Lizzy. Do it again." Nothing happened for 10 or 15 seconds, then she felt the jump.

"Oh, that's weird!" cried Prilla. "Again." She felt the jump 5 seconds later.

"Oh, oh... doing great Lizzy! Do it again." After 5 minutes of this, Prilla was shaking. She broke contact with Lizzy, and pulled off the kerchief & earplugs. "I think I need to lay down, and just breathe for a while." Prilla staggered to the nearest patch of mossy ground, and collapsed there.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Lizzy apologized profusely, looking terribly distressed.

"No, no." Prilla said slowly, with her eyes closed. "You need to learn this. Besides, can you imagine practicing this with any other fairy?" she smiled weakly.

"I suppose not." chuckled Lizzy.

"The most I can manage is 3 other fairies. More than that, and either I can't Apparate, or someone gets left behind." Prilla opened her eyes. "You find out those things during emergencies."

* * *

When Prilla's head settled down a bit, they got up and just walked along the cart-path.

"You should also practice while in motion," said Prilla "And jumping to a moving location. The easiest way, is to do it while flying. After that, try Apparating onto & off-of a moving cart. You can do that yourself." She stopped and looked at Lizzy. "When you travel to new places, always look around. Familiarize & memorize. Are you ready for a trip to the mainland?"

"The mainland? Oh, yes!" chirped Lizzy. She took Prilla's arm, and moments later they were standing before the Fairy Camp Tree in central England.

* * *

Prilla took Lizzy into the sheltered area, and introduced her to any fairy who had a spare minute. Lizzy was also shown the pixie dust concession, cafeteria, dormitory, and medical clinic.

"We can Apparate," said Prilla "So we don't really need dust, food, or sleep at the Fairy Camp, but it's nice to hang out with different fairies. I've found a lot of the ordinary working-fairies to be just as interesting as the well-known fairies." Prilla chuckled, "Sometimes I don't go back to Pixie Hollow for days."

Lizzy gazed in wonder at the busy fairies and their small-scale version of Pixie Hollow.

"How do you feel about a trip to London?" inquired Prilla.

"Sounds fab!" laughed Lizzy.

"Let's see if they need anything." Lizzy followed Prilla to the cafeteria, where kitchen fairies quickly assembled 4 large carry-bags of food. Prilla & Lizzy each slung 2 bags across themselves, then lugged them to the dust concession, where they were given enough pixie dust bags to over-fill the carry-bags.

"No fairy could fly all this to London alone," explained Prilla "But we take the short-cut." As they staggered their way out into the open air, Prilla continued. "London is about 100 miles to the south-east. When you enter human territory, ALWAYS be on your guard. Always keep a safe location in the back of your head, just in case you need to Apparate in a hurry."

As they paused outside the Fairy Camp, Lizzy looked around again. "Okay, got it." Prilla raised her arm, Lizzy linked up, and they vanished.

* * *

They appeared on a large branch of a huge oak tree. At the root of the branch, around the trunk, was a large fairy-built structure, which would have been impossible to see from the ground. This was a fairy regional base.

Lizzy looked around, commenting "I thought you said we were going to London."

"This is Richmond Park, the biggest in London." responded Prilla. Two fairies fluttered out to take part of their loads. "There are smaller fairy bases and stations at almost every park in London. The water talents like Bushy Park, and you'll find garden talents in Regent's Park and Kensington Gardens." She started toward the main entrance. "Let's drop this baggage."

The fairies inside were glad to receive the full carry-bags, and greeted Prilla warmly. She introduced Lizzy to everyone in sight, and they all happily welcomed the new mainland-visiting talent. Prilla took Lizzy to the record-keeping fairy, who provided a map marked with green, red & blue dots. They stepped outside.

"All the fairies keep an eye out for babies and children." Prilla told Lizzy. "These maps make my job a lot more efficient. The green dots are babies, the red ones are girl children, and the blues are boys." She looked at Lizzy with a twinkle, "For your first day in the field, how would you like to visit a baby?"

"A real human baby? Yes!" Lizzy bounced. Prilla studied the map, and pointed to a green dot.

"There's one I've never been to. We'll fly there, since you'll need to know how to navigate around a large city." She handed the map to Lizzy, and they took to the air.

* * *

Prilla stopped once to pick a flower bloom which was just a little past its prime, and took it with her.

"What's that for?" asked Lizzy.

"We might get lucky." replied Prilla with intrigue.

Prilla explained that all of the scouts, most of the fast-flyers, and even some of the nature talents in London wore grey-brown camoflage outfits. She showed Lizzy how to hug the buildings and stay in the shadows while flying.

"If you can find a pigeon flying in your direction, stick near him. If you ask nicely, sometimes they'll even take you all the way there."

"I think we're getting near." said Lizzy. Prilla checked the map.

"Yes. Should be down here somewhere." she agreed, flying lower to some row houses. They flew along the fronts, looking into windows as they passed, but found nothing. They flipped over the roof, and checked the rear windows. Suddenly Prilla stopped.

"There! Smell that?"

"Yes! What is it?" asked Lizzy.

"Baby-smell." She glided over to the nearest window, and landed on the ledge, with Lizzy just behind her. They peeked through the window, at the furniture and toys inside.

"Looks like a baby's room." declared Prilla, dropping the flower bloom on the ledge.

"It's closed, how do we get in?" Lizzy looked at Prilla, who winked and vanished. Lizzy heard a tapping on the window beside her. Prilla was on the other side of the glass, beckoning her.

"Oh!" Lizzy said to herself, and Apparated through the window.

"Still thinking like a regular fairy." Prilla chuckled. "First, let's check on Mum." They floated cautiously to the open bedroom door, looked out, then continued along the hallway.

"You can't often go wrong by hiding "high"." whispered Prilla. "Humans never think to look up. Light fixtures are a good hiding place, but sometimes dusty. I've even hidden by hovering over a human's head."

They found the mother asleep in front of the telly, on at a low volume.

"Ah, poor Mum's catching a nap." decided Prilla. "We should be safe for a while." They flew back to the baby's room, and perched on the crib railing.

"It's a boy. He's adorable." sighed Lizzy.

"Yeah," agreed Prilla "But look, he's sleeping on his stomach. Sometimes that's not good. Help me turn him over." She floated into the crib. They pushed the baby's legs together, and swung the arm which was away from his face, up past the shoulder.

"You handle his head and neck, while I pull his shoulders over." directed Prilla. She grabbed the baby's shirt near his face, and pulled upward & over with all her strength. "Push his hips over." grunted Prilla. Lizzy shoved the hips, and the baby flopped onto his back.

"Good work." said Prilla, as they fluttered back to the crib railing. "He looks near the right age, about 3 to 5 months. If he hasn't laughed already, he should soon."

"Oh look, he's waking up." noticed Lizzy. "Hi, baby!" she cooed, while turning the crib mobile with her hand.

"He still looks a bit groggy, but let's see if we can get a laugh out of him." Prilla pushed into the air, and slowly circled the mobile. "Follow my lead." Lizzy circled the mobile on the opposite side.

"We've got his attention." said Lizzy.

"That's good. Try this." Prilla swooped down near the baby's face, then back up to the mobile. Lizzy followed. They took turns. The boy gurgled, and made "ma-ma-ma" noises.

"He's smiling!" cried Lizzy.

"Watch his hands," advised Prilla "You don't want to end up in his mouth! Now try this." She quickly landed beside the baby's face, slapped his cheek with open palms as if playing bongos, then flew up to the mobile. To the baby, this was a great tickle. He thrashed his arms and legs.

They took turns at that, until Lizzy hovered out of sight above the boy's head. She slowly hovered into his view, upside-down to him, and cried "Hi, baby!"

The baby laughed.

Both Lizzy & Prilla watched the shock-wave bounce about the room, then out through the closed window.

"That's a good one!" yelled Prilla. "Congratulations Lizzy, you may have just created a fairy!"

"Yippee!" Lizzy did loops in the air. They heard heavy footsteps in the hallway.

"It's Mum!" warned Prilla. "Go for the ledge outside!" she pointed to the window. They both vanished as the baby's mother entered.

"What's all the noise, funny boy?" she cooed, smiling at her happy baby, and reaching to pick him up.

* * *

Prilla and Lizzy watched Mum pick up her baby, from just outside the window.

"O-oh." bleated Lizzy. "I wish we could play with him some more."

"So do I." admitted Prilla, picking up the flower blossom she left on the ledge. "Look, there's a petal missing." Lizzy looked at her quizzically. "It could be on its way to Pixie Hollow."

Lizzy beamed at Prilla. "So we did well?"

"I'd say so."

They both Apparated to the Richmond Park base to drop off the map, then the Fairy Camp Tree to drop off empty carry-bags, then Pixie Hollow.

As they walked together towards Dulsie's tearoom, Lizzy declared "This is the best job in the world!"

* * *

.

Author's Post Notes:

I was going to place the fairy base in Kensington Gardens (mentioned in "The World of Fairies - At the Dawn of Pixie Hollow"), but after some Internet research, I decided it didn't seem right; too many open areas, not enough high ground cover, and the trees are meticulously kept, so humans would find the fairies. Richmond Park seems much better for them; 2500 acres, 1000 large oak trees, 650 deer, and it's left semi-natural.

I borrowed the clever idea for a fairy "teasing" a laugh out of a baby from the fanfiction story "Talents" by "Kyra the animal fairy". It would be easy for a fairy to get a baby's attention; they're bright, colorful, animated, and make a jingling sound. The fairy can flit around, and tickle the baby if they must. I later found another more detailed example in "The new fairy" by "ginika".

After I wrote that section, I realized it also had a completely unintended subliminal angle. I decided to leave it as-is, rather than twist my head into a pretzel trying to re-write it. Once again, this is just a work of fiction for your entertainment. Please don't read anything deeper into it.

Where's the end of this story? I'm just about out of ideas for it. Chapter 10 should be the last one.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

.

* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 9 - The Fast-Flyers

True to Tinker Bell's words, a carpenter-talent named Padauk was knocking on Lizzy's royal apartment door next morning. Padauk informed Lizzy that she was soon to be moved into her own place, and invited her to come look at some basic structures.

As Lizzy quickly groomed herself for the day, Prilla also arrived.

"Just as well." commented Prilla. "Queen Clarion has... an errand for me, which could take several days. I'll probably be back in the evenings, but I may be too tired to do much." She hesitated for a second before continuing. "Queen Clarion may some day send you on similar... errands. It might be a good idea to make friends with the fast-flyers, especially Wisp and Elwood."

"Wisp and Elwood." repeated Lizzy. "How do I find them?"

"Talk to the record-keeping talents. They have a good idea where most fairies are." Prilla turned to go, "And don't forget to practice your Apparating-in-motion."

"I won't forget." called Lizzy, as Prilla vanished. "Early morning, and my day is already full." Lizzy chuckled, as she followed the carpenter-talent out.

* * *

"Welcome to the Pixie Hollow carpenter shop." Padauk announced.

It was a large shed with water-wheel powered wood-working equipment. The place smelled wonderfully of fresh-cut wood, and reminded Lizzy very much of Pauline's sawmill. At least a half dozen fairies were working Pauline's rough-cut lumber into near-finished wood for many projects.

"The basic houses are out back." Padauk indicated, and Lizzy followed her out.

"These were all washed up in the cove." began Padauk. "Don't be put-off by their rough appearance. When we finish with them, you'll never recognize them, then the decorating-talents take over."

The first looked like an orange crate. Quite large and sturdy, but boxy. "This could be placed with the big side down, for 1 large floor space, or up on end for 2 smaller floors." noted Padauk. "The second is a human water bucket. The blacksmith-talents can cut windows, a door, and remove the bottom... it's got a hole. We'll build a roof for it."

The third was a half-bushel fruit basket, larger than the bucket, but smaller than the orange crate. "Easy to work with," said Padauk, "But still sturdy. We can put 2 floors in that. The last one we have appears to be a birdcage, it's nice and rigid. Same as the bucket, windows and a door can be cut, and the bars can be covered-over so you'd never know what it used to be."

Padauk turned to Lizzy, "If you don't like these, we can build you a custom house, but it'll take longer."

"I don't think I'll need a lot of space, but I like the round look of the fruit basket." Lizzy decided.

"Good enough then." Padauk produced a clip-board, and sketched a few interior layouts for Lizzy. She picked one, but added a few features. "That looks nice. Now, where would you like it?"

"Is there any room near Prilla's house?"

"I think so. Let's fly over and have a look."

* * *

Lizzy had never seen Prilla's place, and was charmed by it. The location was a bit isolated, the nearest neighbors being some of the fast-flyers.

"I remember this." stated Padauk. "South-facing, plenty of clear views. You could set up across from her, or beside her."

"She's not here to ask..." said Lizzy. "I wouldn't want to block her views, so I'll go beside her."

"We can move it later if there's a problem. I'll get to work on it."

"Thank you, Padauk." Lizzy called, as the carpenter-talent flew off.

* * *

Lizzy decided it was time to track down some fast-flyers, so she Apparated to the Pixie Dust Tree. She fluttered in, and asked around until she found the Record-Keeping Department.

"Oh, hello Viola." Lizzy recognized a familiar face.

"I suspected you were on your way here." Viola gave a smile.

"What are you..." Lizzy started.

"Whenever I'm not "summoning", I spend a fair bit of time briefing the record-keepers about the location of our fairies."

"I was looking for some fast-flyers, mostly Wisp and Elwood."

"They're on the mainland, roaming the countryside, but if you wait at the Fairy Camp Tree, they'll return for meals."

"Thank you, Viola."

"Wait! We might need your help. I think there may be a garden talent trapped in a greenhouse at Kensington Gardens. It's not urgent yet, but could you get her out?"

"I think so." Lizzy was thrilled at the possibility of her first rescue mission.

"Before you go," suggested Viola, "Drop into the Fairy Mail Office next door, to see if they have any express messages for the mainland."

"Alright. Thanks Viola."

* * *

Minutes later, Lizzy fluttered into the mainland Fairy Camp Tree's shelter, dropped the messages, then Apparated directly to the Richmond Park base. They were glad to see her, having just received the trapped-fairy news from a Kensington Gardens scout-talent. Lizzy and the scout jumped into the air, and were on their way.

"She flew into a storage cabinet to look for seeds, and a human locked the door, then left." explained the scout. "Can you really get her out?"

"I'll see when we get there."

* * *

Lizzy cautiously followed the scout into the greenhouse, and up to the storage cabinet. Several garden-talents and scouts were prying at the door, but had only got it open a crack. The fairy inside was clearly distressed.

"What's her name?" asked Lizzy.

"Zinnia" said one of the garden-talents.

"Zinnia?" called Lizzy, "It's alright. We're here to get you out." Lizzy looked at the fairies prying the door, "Can you hold it open there?"

"No problem." they responded.

"Zinnia, give me your hand." The trapped fairy thrust out an arm. Lizzy took her hand, closed her eyes, and tried to Apparate her out. "_Why didn't it work?_" thought Lizzy, then it occurred to her "_I can't get an emotional bond with her hand, I don't even know what she looks like_." Lizzy had an idea.

"Zinnia, let me see your eyes." The other fairies flashed odd looks at each other, but through the door crack Lizzy saw a pair of eyes swimming with fear.

Lizzy closed her eyes, and flipped Zinnia out of the cabinet.

"Oh, thank you!" Zinnia cried, hugging Lizzy. The other fairies relaxed and floated over to give thanks. Lizzy was doing flips inside.

"I'm just glad I could help." responded Lizzy, as they all made their way out of the greenhouse.

"Next time Zinnia, take a scout with you." chuckled one of the scouts.

Lizzy said farewell to the Kensington Gardens fairies. She Apparated to Richmond Park, to let them know things were alright, then to the Fairy Camp Tree.

* * *

It was just about lunch time, so Lizzy wandered toward the cafeteria. There were still plenty of seats available, though she noticed most of the fairies tended to sit with their own talent group. Lizzy had gotten her pixie dust that morning, but missed her breakfast, so she portioned her tray with a healthy lunch.

She stood with her tray, wondering where to sit, when a gust of breeze heralded the entrance of 5 fairies in a tight group. Lizzy studied them as they went for their meals. Most of them wore purples and blues, except for the smallest who wore green and pink, which went well with her wild platinum-blonde hair. When they sat down, Lizzy approached them.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I join you?" she asked. A couple of them eyed Lizzy with suspicion.

"Can't find anyone in your talent to sit with?" smirked the small blonde.

"Well, there are only two of us, and Prilla's away right now."

They all froze, eyes bulging in astonishment at Lizzy.

"Please join us, join us, sit down, Leeta slide over, have a seat, join us." blurted out the sparrow-man in purple. Lizzy sat opposite him and the blonde, who had turned red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry." said the blonde, abashedly. "It's just that most fairies avoid fast-flyers in a group."

"I wonder why?" questioned Lizzy, not really expecting an answer. The fast-flyers looked uncomfortable.

"Let's start over, shall we start over?" began the sparrow-man. "I'm Elwood, that's me."

"Wisp." said the blonde.

"Aura." said the one next to Wisp.

"Hermes." said the one 2 seats from Lizzy.

"Leeta." said the fairy next to Lizzy.

"Pleased to meet you all. I'm Lizzy."

"You're the new one, aren't you? The new one, the new fairy?" asked Elwood. Lizzy nodded.

"So your talent is..." prompted Wisp.

"I'm a mainland-visiting talent." The fast-flyers murmured general approval.

"Prilla must be pleased." indicated Leeta. "She always felt like a bit of an outsider."

"She said I should meet some fast-flyers," Lizzy stated, "Get to know you." Wisp's eyebrows went up.

"That's an odd request, that's strange, yes odd, I think it's odd. Don't you think it's odd?" blabbed Elwood.

"I know why." Wisp lowered her voice in confidence. "It's about the secret missions." The fast-flyers murmured agreement.

"What secret missions?" Lizzy lowered her voice. The fast-flyers all leaned-in close.

"Every once in a while," Wisp continued, "Vidia and Prilla disappear for days at a time. Sometimes they're back in the evenings, but always exhausted, and they never say anything."

"Prilla told me Queen Clarion sent her on an errand..." Lizzy whispered.

"Queen Clarion! I've heard that!" whispered Leeta. "What do you suppose it's about?"

"I can't imagine." said Aura.

"Well, I said it was odd, and it is. Odd. There, I said it again. The whole thing is strange."

The topic seemed to have been depleted, so they settled in to the remainder of their meals, chatting about fast-flying and Apparating. When they were done, the fast-flyers invited Lizzy to fly with them for the afternoon.

"Ho-ho! I don't think I could keep up with YOU fairies." Lizzy laughed. "Besides, Prilla gave me some exercises to practice. I want to show her I've made some progress."

They all promised to meet again soon.

* * *

.

Author's Post Notes:

I don't know much about Elwood, but I've heard he's kind, and talks a lot. I thought for him I'd attempt a touch of Robin Williams. That sort of dialog can work well on a sitcom, but could quickly get tedious in text. I hope you get the idea.

More about the "secret missions" in a future story.

I feel this chapter is a bit weak, so I'll upload it along with chapter 10. This chapter fluffed-out more than I expected, but I think chapter 10 should be the close.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that Disney Fairies & associated content are owned by Walt Disney Company. I am not interested in profiting from this document. It is for the enjoyment of fans only.

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* * *

**Lizzy's Sunset** - Chapter 10 - Clara

It was a mild evening a couple of days later, when Prilla caught up with Lizzy at the Fairy Camp Tree. Lizzy excitedly described her activities while Prilla was gone. She wore scrapes and splinters from trying to Apparate onto moving carts.

"It's all timing." sympathized Prilla. "I tore up some skirts until I got it. It's a bit like dancing, with the cart leading. You have to flow with the cart."

"I'll keep at it." Lizzy grimaced as she rubbed her bottom.

"What did you think of the fast-flyers?" Prilla eyed Lizzy with a half-smile.

"Well," Lizzy chose her words carefully "They sure are a proud lot."

"Mmm. Not many humble fast-flyers. So they took you for fast-fly trips?"

"Elwood took me to Birmingham, and Wisp took me to Manchester. Elwood was nice, but he wouldn't stop chattering at me. We almost flew into a building! Wisp was a little frightening; she kept buzzing close to the tree-tops. At that speed..." Lizzy shuddered. "They both seem a little... unstable."

Prilla nodded "You'll find most of the high-end talents are like that, even Tinker Bell. Wisp is a close second behind Vidia, although Vidia would never admit it. Elwood is probably the number three fast-flyer. How did they like being Apparated back?"

"Elwood vomited for a full minute. Wisp was alright. She's small, but surprisingly tough." Lizzy guessed Prilla's intentions. "If I had to work with one of them, I think it would have to be Wisp."

"Good." Prilla nodded. "Tonight, I'd like you to meet one of my "regulars".

* * *

Prilla Apparated them to an open-air market in London, now closed for the night. They fluttered to a section with fruit from Europe and the world.

"Tracy lives alone with her mother, who works evenings as a waitress." Prilla explained. "Most of the salary goes to pay rent. I always try to take something healthy for Tracy." She stopped over a huge display of apples.

"Pick a couple with stems you can hang onto." Prilla instructed, "Then shake a little pixie dust on each, not too much, just enough so you can handle them." Lizzy followed her. They stood on the pile of apples looking at each other, holding 4 apples between them.

"How are we going too...?" asked Lizzy.

"I didn't think of that." commented Prilla. "Let's try back-to-back." They flattened their wings, and pressed their backs together. Prilla made the jump, and they were stumbling on a ledge outside a flat window.

"It worked!" cried Lizzy. She looked around. This was not an elegant living area.

"First time I've done that." The window was open just enough for a fairy to step through into the flat. "We'll have plenty of time with Tracy. Her mother travels an hour to work by bus & tube, and another hour to return. She won't be home until 1 or 2 in the morning."

They fluttered with the apples into a small but tidy bedroom, containing 2 sleeping cots and boxes of clothing. One of the cots had remarkably good drawings of Prilla stuck to the wall nearby. They floated through the doorway.

"Sometimes I bring pencils and other school supplies." Prilla added. "It's amazing what some humans throw away." The next room was a compact kitchen/lounge area. A young girl, doing school-work at the kitchen table looked up at their approach.

"Prilla!" she cried. "You brought a friend!" The 2 fairies set the apples in the center of the table. Prilla hopped across the table, picked up a short pencil, and flew it back to Lizzy.

"Write your name for her." Prilla indicated a small scrap of paper nearby. Lizzy did so, and also drew a smile-face with twin hair braids, on a stick figure with a pair of small wings.

"Lizzy." read Tracy. Lizzy stuck out her hand. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Lizzy. I'm Tracy." She gently shook Lizzy's hand. "Are you best friends?" Prilla and Lizzy glanced at each other, smiled, and both nodded "yes". Tracy had learned to ask mostly yes/no questions. "Have you known each other long?"

Prilla picked up the pencil and wrote "new" next to the stick-drawing of Lizzy. She then wandered over to look at Tracy's school-work.

"You're a new fairy? How do you like being a fairy?" Tracy asked. Lizzy smiled grandly and hugged herself. "I'd like to see the fairy world someday, but I haven't finished school yet." Prilla jingled for Tracy's attention to one of her school-work geometry exercises.

"Well, I wasn't sure about that one." explained Tracy. Lizzy wandered over to look. Prilla picked up the pencil and began drawing geometry figures that showed a clearer way to the solution. "Oh. I never thought of that."

As Tracy proceeded through the exercise to the answer, Lizzy asked "Where did you learn this, Prilla?"

"Tinker Bell taught me some, and showed me more from the human books in our library." Prilla swung the pencil onto her shoulder. "Tracy is a smart girl, she just needs a little tutoring."

Lizzy eyed Prilla with new admiration. "Is she the only one?"

"There are a few others, and more in the past, but they moved away and I lost track of them." Prilla sighed. "Sometimes I wish I could Apparate to people, instead of just places."

Lizzy watched as Tracy moved on to history, then english school-work, with Prilla helping as best she could. It grew later into the evening.

"Can I just draw Lizzy, before I go to bed?" asked Tracy. She spent several minutes sketching, then showed the results. Lizzy bounced and clapped at the marvelous drawing of herself. "I'm going to put it right next to my pictures of Prilla." Tracy declared.

"Perhaps she's an art-talent." suggested Lizzy.

"Maybe, but human children need to try every talent before they decide." Prilla answered, as Tracy put away her school-work.

The fairies tucked Tracy into bed, kissed her forehead, and waited while she drifted to sleep.

"Well," said Prilla, "Her Mum should be home in a few hours. It's been a long day, I think I'll head home." Lizzy nodded. "Tomorrow is Saturday for humans, which is often easier for us. I'll see you at breakfast." They each Apparated back to Pixie Hollow.

* * *

Lizzy and Prilla spent the next day fast-transporting messages & supplies, and bouncing about the various fairy bases & stations in London.

"The more places you're familiar with, the faster you can get around." stated Prilla.

They had lunch and supper at the Fairy Camp Tree, chatting with some of Prilla's acquaintances. Early evening, they hopped into the Richmond Park base to pick up some maps.

"Tonight," announced Prilla, "We'll do a new contact. I'll let you decide which one."

Lizzy gazed over the maps, smiling, "Some lucky girl or boy is going to meet fairies tonight." She pointed to a red dot. "This one."

"There are closer ones..." suggested Prilla.

"No, this one."

"Alright." smiled Prilla. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Flying in the city at night is usually safer." explained Prilla, as they zipped along. "Not as many eyes to see you, so just stay near the rooftops."

"You said Saturday is easier for us." prompted Lizzy.

"On Friday and Saturday evenings, many parents will go out for a meal and a show, leaving their children with a babysitter. You'll see."

"Do you visit many boys?" asked Lizzy. Prilla made a wry face.

"Boys are more difficult. Human parents raise them differently than girls; rough-and-tumble adventure. It's not easy for a fairy to appeal to that. Girls are more socially inclined. Sometimes if a girl has a younger brother..." Prilla trailed off.

They paused for a moment near a streetlamp to check their course.

"Actually, even holding the attention of girls nowadays is more demanding." Prilla continued. "Children have so many distractions... television, music, battery-powered toys... and when girls discover boys, fairies are GONE." she chuckled.

"I think we're almost there." claimed Lizzy. They dropped down closer to the houses, peering into any lit windows.

As they approached a partially open 2nd floor window, they heard a girl exclaim "It's the hawk! Hide fairies, hide!" Prilla and Lizzy both snapped against the wall, under the window ledge.

Prilla frowned. "Hawks don't fly at night." She looked up and down the street. "What's going on?"

They both raised their heads and looked into the room. There, they saw a young girl playing with paper cut-outs at a small table.

"Ahh." smiled Lizzy.

"Let's just check something." Prilla fluttered down to a ground floor window. She and Lizzy saw a teenage girl talking on the phone, while watching the telly.

"That's the babysitter." said Prilla. "I don't think she'll be bothering us." The two fairies fluttered back up to the girl's room, and stepped through the open window. At Prilla's advice, they sat on the edge of the window sill.

"Don't want to frighten her." Prilla suggested. "We'll just sit here chatting, and she'll notice us. Stay alert. Some children will charge at a fairy, like we're a new toy, but one girl was afraid of me. Be ready for anything."

The girl looked over to find the jingling noise, and froze, staring at the two fairies.

"Smile." hinted Prilla to Lizzy, "Give her a wave."

"Fairies?" asked the girl. Her eyes glanced to an old book open on the table, then back to Prilla & Lizzy. "Real fairies?"

"I think it's safe to approach." Prilla & Lizzy pushed off and floated toward the girl. "The side of the table, away from her.", which is where they touched down.

"Are you really fairies?" asked the girl. Prilla & Lizzy nodded "yes".

"Children believe even more in fairies if they know you have a name." Prilla said to Lizzy, while watching the girl. She walked forward, and found a pencil & scrap of paper amongst the art supplies on the table. She wrote her name, then handed the pencil to Lizzy, who also wrote her name.

"Prilla. And Lizzy" read the girl. "I'm so happy to meet you. My name is Clara. I've just been tracing pictures from my grandma's book. Would you like to help me colour them?" The two fairies jumped to work.

"This is the water fairy." instructed Clara, "Her hair is black, and her dress is blue." She picked up another cut-out, "This is the garden fairy. Her hair is red, and her dress is pink and red."

They colored away as Clara chatted. "I've already done the hawk. Are fairies really afraid of hawks?" The two fairies nodded "yes". "I can see why. Hawks are much bigger than fairies." She set down a yellow crayon and picked up a brown one. "I'm doing the light fairy."

Prilla gazed over at Clara's work, then at her own, then Lizzy's.

"Lizzy..." said Prilla in a low voice, "Does any of this look familiar?"

"What do you mean?" asked Lizzy.

"Well," pointing to her blue-dressed cut-out, "This could be Silvermist." Prilla pointed to Lizzy's cut-out, "That could be Rosetta. You even colored her dress right, without realizing." Prilla pointed to Clara's cut-out, "And that's GOT to be..."

"Iridessa!" Lizzy looked at Prilla in astonishment. "Where is this coming from?"

"Clara mentioned that book." Prilla jerked her head toward the old book. "Why don't you have a look while I keep Clara busy." Lizzy fluttered over to the book, and slowly turned pages.

"What sort of fairy are you?" asked Clara. Prilla picked up the pencil and wrote "mainland visiting". "Oh, do you visit here on holiday?" Prilla laughed, and wrote "visit children".

"Prilla!" cried Lizzy. "Prilla, come here!" As Prilla fluttered over, Lizzy indicated the book page, saying "Look like anyone you recognize?"

Prilla stared at the life-size tracing of a fairy with yellow hair, a short green dress, and actual cotton balls on her shoes.

"Well, take my dust." murmured Prilla.

"That's my grandma's book." informed Clara. "She gave it to me, to look after. Grandma's gone now. Mummy says she's with the angels." Clara moved her chair over closer. "It's a book about fairies. Would you like to see it?" The two fairies nodded "yes".

Clara started near the front, and slowly flipped pages as she chatted about what she knew, or imagined, of the life of fairies. Prilla's eyes never left the journal, but Lizzy looked repeatedly from the book, to Clara, and back to the book.

"...and that's all about fairies." concluded Clara. The journal still had many blank pages.

"I've got an idea." grinned Prilla to Lizzy. She turned to the "Actual Size Fairy" page, looking at Clara, and pointing to the tracing. Prilla then turned to the next blank page, and laid down on the page.

"Oh." Clara smiled, "You want me to trace you?" She reached for a pencil as Lizzy also laid down on the page nearby.

Clara gingerly traced the outlines of the two fairies. Together they filled in feature lines, colored the two tracings, then Prilla and Lizzy wrote their names. When they were done, Prilla rolled cart-wheels in a circle around the page, while Lizzy jumped and applauded.

They continued with the cut-out tracings, until Prilla heard footsteps in the hallway. The two fairies Apparated to the window ledge outside.

"Clara?" called the babysitter as she entered, "It's time to get ready for bed, sweetie."

"Alright." answered Clara, looking about the room for her fairy friends. When the sitter left, Prilla and Lizzy returned to the small table top.

As Clara changed to her bedclothes, Lizzy turned to the front page of the old journal. She read the inscription: "Scientific Fairy Research, Lizzy Griffiths & Tinker Bell".

"You can't tell her." said Prilla, from beside Lizzy.

Lizzy looked up at Clara. "But she's my..."

"You can't tell her." Prilla insisted. "She's just a child. It would mess up her young head."

"But..."

"Promise me you won't tell her." Prilla looked at Lizzy sternly.

"I promise." Lizzy whispered.

"You can visit her any time, but remember there are many other children to visit too. We need lots of children to believe in fairies."

The babysitter returned once more, to see that Clara was in bed. The fairies waited nearby until Clara fell asleep. Prilla then fluttered over to the old journal, and flipped the pages to the new one of her and Lizzy.

"Something to remind her, in the morning." Prilla smiled. "Dulsie's tearoom?"

"Meet you there!" Lizzy grinned, and the two fairies vanished.

* * *

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Author's Post Note:

I'm going to call that "a wrap". This story certainly grew much more than I expected. And it's not even a proper story with a climax; just a bunch of ideas strung together. Oh well, I managed to close some circles. Hope you enjoyed it.

The story title seems a bit off, considering where it goes now. It's part of the story's evolution, I guess.

When I started this story, I only had the movies & a couple chapter books to draw from. See how dangerous "a little knowledge" can be? I've totally mixed up the time-lines, characters, and talent specifics. It seems there are 2 Disney Fairies eras:

- The earlier Pixie Hollow "golden age" era, with the Pixie Dust Tree, covered by the movies.

- The later Fairy Haven era, with the Home Tree & Mother Dove & fairy dust, covered by the books.

Something really bad happens in between. I'm not looking forward to hearing about that. I cringe every time an author beats-up fairies. I like my fairies safe & happy.

The character of Prilla doesn't even come along until the later era. From what I've read so far, she doesn't "teleport" to the mainland (as such); it's more like a duplicate of her is created on the mainland and her consciousness jumps to the duplicate, while her real body sort-of "zones-out".

I like the vitality of the movies, but the books have many interesting characters which might clutter-up a movie. So in my ignorance, I cherry-picked. Anyway, now I can get on to some other story ideas that have been whispering to me.


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